Vietnam to help Sri Lanka develop fisheries, aquaculture sectors

Vietnam has agreed to sign a bilateral agreement with Sri Lanka to assist the South Asian nation in development of its fisheries and aquaculture sector.

Sri Lanka Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda and Vietnam Ambassador to Sri Lanka Pham Kieu Thu in a meeting on 17 October discussed the establishment of joint ventures to implement projects in Sri Lanka, the Colombo Page reported.

The bilateral agreement is expected to cover fisheries and aquaculture projects to be launched from 2021 to 2025.

The deal will see the two countries exchanging methods and experiences in aquaculture development, comprising sea cucumber farming and freshwater aquaculture. It will also cover possible allocations of financial aid from Vietnam to support Sri Lanka’s fisheries industry.

Vietnamese experts are expected to be invited to hold workshops on shrimp farming in Sri Lanka, in partnership with the latter’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency.

The two countries had already signed a similar agreement in 2005, which resulted in a number of successful projects completed between 2010 and 2013, the Sri Lanka minister said in the article.

According to Vietnam’s Research Institute of Aquaculture, in 2013 and 2014, the Vietnamese government funded a joint aquaculture project to help Sri Lanka farm sea cucumber, lobster, and seaweed. Government officials and farmers from Sri Lanka were pleased with the results of the project, according to the Vietnamese institute.

Vietnam exported seafood worth USD 3.21 million (EUR 2.72 million) to Sri Lanka in the first nine months of this year, down 44.6 percent from the same period last year, Vietnamese customs data showed.