Vietnam National University of Agriculture receives JICA President Award 2021

On the afternoon of January 18, 2022, the Office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam held a ceremony to award the 17^th JICA President Award to the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA).

Every year, JICA presents the JICA President Award to individuals and organizations to commend them with preeminent achievements of the socio-economic development in developing countries through JICA's international cooperation activities. In 2021, 42 individuals and organizations around the world were awarded this award. VNUA was one of the four institutions in Vietnam given this year's award.

Mr. Shimizu Akira, Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office, presents the JICA President's Honor Award to Vietnam National University of Agriculture

At the ceremony, the Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam, Mr. Shimizu Akira, deeply thanked Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong and the former Rectors, former Directors of VNUA and all individuals who had been dedicated and devoted to the cooperation projects with JICA so far. On the occasion of the 24^th anniversary of the cooperation relationship between VNUA and Japan (1998-2022), he expressed his pleasure to represent JICA to present the “JICA President Award” to VNUA, the unit that made many contributions in promoting the friendly relationship between the two countries.

Mr. Shimizu Akira, Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office, delivers a speech at the ceremony

JICA's support for VNUA began in 1998, marked by the signing of a cooperation agreement for the project "Enhancing educational and research capacity of Hanoi University of Agriculture". Up to now, VNUA has been sponsored by a number of non-refundable ODA projects by JICA to develop human resources through short-term training, long-term training, academic exchanges and JICA volunteer program, as well as to improve the quality of scientific research by joint research and laboratory activities.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, Secretary of the Party Committee, President of VNUA, delivers a speech at the ceremony

Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, Secretary of the Party Committee, VNUA’s President, expressed her honour when Vietnam National University of Agriculture received the JICA President Award for its important contributions to JICA and the development of Vietnam through the successful implementation of the project entitled "Developing improved crops for the Northern Midlands and Mountains of Vietnam". Since the establishment of the cooperation relationship, JICA had been always accompanying VNUA through various grant programs and scientific and technical cooperation, supporting the training of senior human resources in the field of agriculture.

On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan thanked the Government of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for their valuable support over the past years. At the same time, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan also congratulated the project team led by Prof. Dr. Pham Van Cuong, VNUA’s Vice President and project coordinator, for winning the “JICA President Award” for successfully breeding 02 new national rice varieties.

In the coming time, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan said that VNUA would strive to effectively implement the project entitled "Agricultural human resource development advisor for Vietnam National University of Agriculture" sponsored by JICA for the period 2021-2023.