JAKARTA — The Philippines and Vietnam are finalizing a 5-year rice cooperation agreement to ensure food security and agricultural production, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on Thursday.

The Vietnamese leader assured Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit that his country is ready to come to the aid of the Philippines.

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“Our two countries will conclude an inter-government agreement on rice trade so that our rice export to the Philippines will ensure food security in the Philippines,” he told Marcos Jr.

“We look forward to having a stable framework of cooperation on rice trade for a long period of at least 5 years,” he said.

“With that we can ensure our production and you can also ensure imports from Vietnam,” he added.

Marcos Jr., who also heads the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture, earlier imposed a price ceiling on several rice varieties as the government curbs traders who have allegedly hoarded the staple grain to manipulate market prices.

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Marcos Jr. expressed optimism over his Vietnamese counterpart’s willingness to import rice to the Philippines, noting that food supply is a “main issue” in the Philippines.

“In Asia, food supply is very much determined by rice and the prices,” he said,

“While we are anxious, we hope to continue very fruitful arrangements,” he said.

Aside from agricultural cooperation the Vietnamese leader also thanked the Philippines for expanding its ties with Vietname in other areas including maritime security, and urged the Philippines to “continue the exchange of high-level visits.”

“I hope that the two countries will increase connectivity… We should also expand cooperation in new areas like digital economy and green economy,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.

“We also look forward to working closely with the Philippines in constant coordination,” he added.

The Philippines and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, but the neighboring countries have managed to settle disputes peacefully while also forging closer economic and diplomatic ties.

The two countries have also forged agreements on the prevention and management of incidents in the South China Sea.

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