The minister made the statement on February 27th at an international conference held in Hanoi with the participation of scientists from technology research and development institutes in both Vietnam and India. The Government of Vietnam considers biotechnology as one of the four prioritised science and technology–related areas in the country’s socio-economic development strategy, said Anh. The minister added that the conference will serve as a forum for the two countries’ scientists to swap views on future cooperation in the field. Participants agreed that Vietnam and India share similarities in their agriculture-based economy. Therefore, biotechnology will play an important role in the development of both countries’ “green industry”. At the two-day event they also discussed concrete measures to foster biotechnology development in the two countries, especially in agriculture, health, food and the environment./.