Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Vietnamese prime minister, met with executives at Norwegian pharmaceutical company Pharmaq on May 25, to discuss how to support sustainable growth and reduce the need for antibiotics in pangasius farming.
Truong Thi Le Khanh and Morten Nordstad sign their deal, watched by representatives of the Vietnamese government
As part of a visit to Norway, Phuc visited Pharmaq's global R&D center in Oslo. For the last ten years, the company has been collaborating with the Vietnamese government, the aquaculture industry and academia to reduce the need for antibiotics in pangasius farming.
As part of the visit, the Vietnamese delegation was given a tour of the R&D laboratory and met with scientists as well as company executives The delegation’s aim is to stimulate the collaboration between Vietnamese and Norwegian companies, in order to introduce new technologies and facilitate sustainable growth in Vietnam, according to local media reports.
“Within the last two years, we have vaccinated more than 80 million pangasius in Vietnam, preventing disease caused by the bacteria Edwardsiella ictaluri and Aeromonas hydrophila and reducing the need for antibiotic treatments. Having prime minister Phuc here to visit gave us a unique opportunity to strengthen our shared ambition for sustainable growth in the Vietnamese aquaculture industry,” said Morten Nordstad, president of Pharmaq.
Last year, at the Vietfish expo, Vinh Hoan, the world's largest pangasius exporter, signed a long-term “strategic partnership” with Pharmaq.
Together the pair's key goal is to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, the use of chemicals and antibiotics in pangasius farming, through the use of commercial-scale vaccinations, Vinh Hoan chairwoman Truong Thi Le Khanh said at the time.