A delegation of the Bulgarian Agricultural Academy (BAA) led by president, Prof. Vasil Stoimenov Nikolov, paid an official working visit to Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) on 28th May, 2018. Receiving the delegation were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tat Canh, VNUA vice president, and representative leaders of the International Cooperation Office, the Faculties of Animal Science, Agronomy and lecturers who used to study in Bulgaria.

 

At the meeting, both sides introduced and exchanged information on human resources, training, and research capacity, as well as their abilities to collaborate in the field of cultivation, animal science and food technology… The Bulgarian Agricultural Academy is the oldest applied research institute that provides services and supports in the fields of agriculture, animal science and food technology in Bulgaria. In the past five years, the Academy has cooperated with scientists from more than 30 countries in the framework of joint research projects, international seminars and conferences, consultations abroad with the total of 172 projects funded by international organizations such as the EU, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Center for Agricultural Research for the Dry Areas (ICARD) ...

 

According to VNUA’s vice president, Nguyen Tat Canh, in the near future, VNUA would like to promote student and staff exchanges.  They would also like to invite Bulgarian professors to review articles for VNUA journal, to teach and work as consultants for high-tech agricultural centers at VNUA, to jointly organize international workshops in Vietnam and Bulgaria, to hold summer courses for students, and to send students for credit exchange. The two sides will develop joint proposals in the form of the Vietnam-Bulgaria Protocol with focus on plant breeding (vegetables, roots, flowers, tobacco), cattle breeding, food technology (dairy, meat, fruit and vegetable processing). Both sides should cooperate to write joint articles to increase international publications in the specialized English journals.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides formally agreed to promote joint collaborations in training and research by signing a BAA - VNUA Memorandum of Understanding. The Bulgarian Agricultural Academy affirmed to shortly inform VNUA of dual programs and the contact person so that bilateral actions could be visualized. The MOU will be the official platform to enhance the collaboration between VNUA and the Bulgarian Agricultural Academy in the future.