On the morning of June 15, 2022, Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) welcomed a delegation of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) led by Dr. Jean Ballie, Director General of IRRI and CGIAR Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, to visit and work at VNUA. Accompanying the delegation was Dr. Alvin Poncin, Director of IRRI Development Cooperation, and Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander, IRRI Representative in Vietnam, IRRI scientific expert.

On behalf of VNUA, there were Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vice Chairman of the university council; Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, VNUA’s Vice President; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Bao Duong, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, VNUA’s Vice President; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Long, Director of the International Cooperation Office and experts, scientists, officials and employees of the university.

 

Dr. Cao Duc Phat - Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vice Chairman of the University Council speaks at the ceremony

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vice Chairman of the University Council, expressed his pleasure that this was the first visit and the first working visit of IRRI's top leader to VNUA. Since the establishment of a cooperative relationship with IRRI in 1963, Vietnam has regularly sent staff to IRRI for research and training. IRRI also helped Vietnam to train hundreds of scientists in various forms.

Dr. Cao Duc Phat said that through the improvement of human resource capacity, technical support as well as seeds from IRRI, many new rice varieties had been developed in Vietnam to meet rice production and export demand. Through the ceremony, Dr. Cao Duc Phat expressed his wish that IRRI would continue to develop its cooperation relationship with VNUA on the basis of sharing the two sides' common values and goals.

 

Dr. Jean Ballie, Director General of IRRI and CGIAR Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, speaks at the ceremony

At the welcoming ceremony, Dr. Jean Ballie, Director General of IRRI and CGIAR Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, thanked VNUA for the warm and respectful welcome and shared about the strong cooperation relationship between VNUA and IRRI for many years.

As the Director General of IRRI, Dr. Jean Ballie hoped that this visit would promote comprehensive cooperation between VNUA and IRRI as well as other members of CGIAR, especially in the development of activities in response to climate change in agricultural production associated with environmental protection.

 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Long, Director of the International Cooperation Office, briefly introduces about VNUA and the university’s scientific and technological potentials which facilitate the cooperation and response of VNUA to IRRI and CGIAR's programs and projects in the future

Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, VNUA’s Vice President, gives the presentation on "Results of research and technology transfer in rice crop by VNUA" 

At the reception and working session with the delegation, Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, VNUA’s Vice President, on behalf of the Rice strong research group, gave the presentation on "Research results and technology transfer in rice crop by VNUA”. At the end of the presentation, many questions and issues were raised and discussed enthusiastically at the meeting hall.

 

Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vice Chairman of the University Council, gives souvenir gifts to Dr. Jean Ballie, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and CGIAR Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific

VNUA’s leaders and staff take photos with the delegation of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)