According to the International Cooperation Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the two sides will increase the exchange of experts in aquaculture, rice cultivation, irrigation and livestock feed production, as well as agricultural technologies.

Vietnam is keen to exchange good varieties of livestock with Myanmar, to breed them nationwide, the department said.

In implementing the memorandum of understanding on fisheries cooperation inked by the two countries in April, 2010, Myanmar is committed to creating more favourable legal conditions for Vietnamese businesses to implement projects in aquaculture and aquatic product processing in the country.

Vietnam is also stepping up negotiations with Myanmar on a cooperative agreement on planting rubber trees and other industrial crops on an area of 200,000 hectares.

The department said the agroforestry and fisheries cooperation between Vietnam and Myanmar for 2006-2010 is limited to regional channels and the exchange of experts.

With rich natural resources, Myanmar, the second largest country in Southeast Asia, is seen as a country holding significant development potential. It is likely to be Vietnam’s major competitor in agricultural exports.

Myanmar’s agricultural sector now makes up 44 percent of GDP and 20 percent of export turnover and generates jobs for two thirds of the country’s labourers. 

The country boasts over 20 million hectares of farm land, more than 6 million hectares of water surface and a 3,000-km coastline.