Vietnam and the European Union (EU) will continue to cooperate to raisecapacity in protecting plant variety rights in Vietnam.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed betweenthe EU Community Plant Variety Office and the Vietnamese Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development’s Plant Variety Protection Office inHanoi on May 19.

Under the MoU, the two sides willprovide each other with results of technical examination of varietiesthat are subject to application for Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) andmake the best use of human resources of each side.

Head of the EU Delegation in Vietnam, Ambassador Sean Doyle, underlinedthat Intellectual Property Rights, including Plant Variety Rights are ofimportance, particularly for a country like Vietnam with a strongagricultural sector and many kinds of precious varieties of plants.

He added that PBR encourages breeding and the introduction of newplant varieties, thus producing benefits for the society.

“With this agreement, we expect the cooperation in this field betweenVietnam and the EU to become even stronger,” Doyle said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Bui Ba Bongaffirmed that the agreement would help Vietnam comply fully with itsobligation under the International Convention for the Protection of NewVarieties of Plants (CPOV), to be achieved in 2016 – to ensureprotection for varieties of all plant species.

Atpresent, both Vietnam and the EU are members of the International Unionfor the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, which was established in1961 by CPOV./.