Vietnam and Lithuania have a good traditional friendship. Two sides celebrated the 30th establishment of the diplomatic relationship last year. Over the past year, the bilateral relationship has positively developed, retaining the efficiency of the bilateral cooperation mechanism.

Lithuania was one of the first EU member states to ratify the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and supported the signing of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The two sides gained mutual support in the election and nomination into significant United Nations agencies and organizations.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri stated that although Lithuania is a European Union (EU) member country, agricultural cooperation with Vietnam has been somewhat limited in recent years. During the period from 2020 to 2023, due to the COVID-19 situation, there was no delegation exchange between the two sides.

Most recently, in December 2019, Mr. Evaldas Gustas, Deputy Minister of the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture, visited and worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and several agencies, including the Department of Animal Health, the Plant Protection Department, and the Vietnam Livestock Association.

Regarding trade exchanges, both sides signed the Agreement on Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments in 1995 and the Agreement on Economic and Trade Cooperation in 1995. Although the trade volume between Vietnam and Lithuania has increased more than fourfold, from USD 56 million in 2015 to USD 233 million in 2022, agricultural trade remains somewhat limited. Vietnam primarily exports seafood, cashews, rubber, and cashew nuts by sea to Lithuania, with relatively small quantities.

Currently, 566 Vietnamese enterprises are allowed to export seafood to the EU, including Lithuania. Exporting seafood to this market currently faces no significant difficulties or obstacles.

Conversely, Lithuania has been allowed to export poultry meat and poultry products, as well as seafood products for food to Vietnam. To date, Vietnam has approved 13 Lithuanian enterprises (including 2 poultry meat/poultry product exporters and 11 seafood product exporters) to export their products to Vietnam.

Lithuania is proposing to export beef and egg products to Vietnam. Upon receiving this request, the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) has repeatedly requested Lithuania to provide additional information to assess the risks of importing these products from Lithuania into Vietnam. However, as of now, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has not received a response from the Lithuanian side. Lithuania is proposing to export beef and egg products to Vietnam.

Upon receiving this request, the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) has repeatedly requested Lithuania to provide additional information to assess the risks of importing these products from Lithuania into Vietnam. Most recently, the Department of Animal Health sent Official Letters No. 1436/TY-HTQT on August 16, 2023, and No. 1653/TY-HTQT on October 6, 2022, requesting Lithuania to provide additional information to assess the risks of importing beef and egg products. However, to date, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has not received a response from the Lithuanian side.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri suggests that both sides focus on promoting trade in agricultural products in which they have strengths, mutually supporting each other. These products include rice, seafood, vegetables, tea, black pepper, cashews, wood/wood products, rubber from Vietnam, and poultry meat, cold-water seafood, and some products from Lithuania.

The leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also suggests that Lithuania consider importing some of Vietnam's livestock products such as processed poultry meat, eggs, and egg products and create conditions for Vietnam to increase the export of traditional items like seafood, cashews, rubber, and tropical fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri suggests that Lithuania promptly complete the documentation for exporting beef and egg products to Vietnam, which will allow for inspections of the meat and egg production systems before granting permission for export to Vietnam.

Lithuania, with its strengths in organic agriculture and 15% of its arable land dedicated to this sector, is encouraged to enhance cooperation in organic agriculture and agricultural processing.

On the Lithuanian side, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis shared that Lithuania is in the process of applying for permits to export its agricultural products to Vietnam. He also highlighted fertilizers as one of Lithuania's advantageous areas and expressed a desire that the country wants to exchange and enhance collaboration with Vietnam. Lithuania has produced an effective type of fertilizer that benefits crop growth and soil quality. He wishes for both sides to exchange delegations of experts to promote technology transfer or work more closely in this field.

During the visit, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs also extended an invitation to representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to visit and participate in the largest food conference in the Baltic region, held in Lithuania every November.