Leaders from 13 Mekong Delta localities and Ho Chi Minh City met ata November 26 conference in Vinh Long province to seek ways to beef uptheir cooperation and connectivity.

During theevent, as part of the ongoing Mekong Delta Economic Forum (MDEC - VinhLong 2013), the leaders reviewed their cooperation outcomes over thepast years, while directly talking with local enterprises.

The Mekong Delta region with its advantages has acted as a supplier ofmaterial and labour to HCM City – a major cultural and economichub of the country.

Over the past years, MekongDelta localities and HCM City have enjoyed growing cooperation invarious fields including agriculture, fisheries and production supportservices, ensuring food safety for the Mekong Delta region and the wholecountry.

During the 12 years of ties, the city’sfirms have invested in 23 industrial zones in the region with over 1,000projects totalling 260 trillion VND (12.22 billion USD).

However, the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region admittedthat the projects have faced slow progress, leading to poor efficiency.

HCM City ’s leaders suggested that theMekong Delta localities organise a conference to review cooperation inthe 2001-2013 period and subsequently hold the event every five years.

Meanwhile, cooperation with the city’s enterprisesshould be extended, while more bilateral cooperation mechanisms shouldbe built to strengthen the responsibilities of each side, they said.

They also called on the steering committee for closer coordination to remove obstacles during the cooperation process.

Leaders of HCM City and the 13 Mekong Delta localities proposedthat the Government should prioritise ODA for the development of keytransport projects, irrigation systems and environmental protection inthe region.

They also asked for more policies to utilise all natural and human resources to attract investment to the region.

The Mekong Delta region comprises of 12 provinces and onecentrally-run city with a total area of 40,000 square kilometres and apopulation of 18 million. It is the largest granary of the country.

The same day, a seminar themed “Developing and expanding the greenagriculture model in the Mekong Delta region” was held, focusing onassessing the value chain of agricultural products as a strength of theregion.

It aims to promote regional localities’access to the model, allowing them to apply it in their specificsituation, thus gradually multiplying the green and hi-tech agriculturalproduction process.

Some localities also introducedtypical value chains of products like fruit and tra fish, large-scalerice field and production to VietGap standards.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD),the Mekong Delta region has 3.8 million hectares of farmland and enjoysthe best conditions for farming the country.

Theregion generates 40 percent of the country’s total agriculturalproduction value, 54 percent of aquatic products, 62 percent of riceexport turnover and 85 percent of catfish export value, it said.

However, the ministry warns of unsustainable agriculture production inthe region as it has mainly depended on natural resources.

MARD Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam said the ministry will proposeto the Government mechanisms and policies to solve difficulties for theregion in investment size and sources, market and production areaplanning, aiming to boost green agriculture.

In thefuture, Mekong Delta green agriculture will be associated withaquaculture and mangrove forest conditions, contributing to coping withclimate change, he added.-VNA