The second bilateral meeting on Prevention and Control of cross-border Animal Diseases and Public Health Security between China and Vietnam was held

During the meeting, China and Vietnam exchanged information on the capacity building of their respective veterinary management systems and veterinary service systems, analyzed the natural ecological environment and economic and social factors affecting the border area, and put forward the basic concept of establishing an epidemic control area (epizone). The two sides will take joint prevention and control measures such as epidemiological investigation, joint epidemic surveillance, immunization assessment and timely information sharing to effectively reduce the risk of avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease and blue-ear disease of pigs, and jointly improve animal health and public health security in border areas.

China and Vietnam share a long border with similar natural and ecological characteristics in neighboring provinces. In recent years, the large number of animals and animal products circulating through non-port channels, border exchanges and other channels has not only increased the risk of cross-border animal diseases, but also increased the difficulty and complexity of joint border prevention and control. On the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the prevention and control of cross-border animal diseases in the Greater Mekong Subregion in 2005 and the agreement on cooperation in animal quarantine and animal health signed between the governments of the two countries in 2008, the veterinary bureaus of the two Ministries of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in animal health in 2012, clarifying the specific contents of promoting all-round veterinary cooperation. Veterinary departments of Guangxi and Yunnan provinces have undertaken a number of technical cooperation projects with Vietnam, training technicians for Vietnam's border provinces and setting up experimental stations for animal disease prevention and control. The convening of this meeting is not only a comprehensive summary of the veterinary cooperation between China and Vietnam in recent years, but also a strong boost to the practical and efficient cooperation between the two sides in the field of veterinary medicine.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have paid close attention to and provided technical and financial support to the cross-border animal disease prevention and control cooperation between China and Vietnam. Nearly 60 representatives from FAO in China and Vietnam, USAID, as well as the Chinese and Vietnamese Ministries of Agriculture, veterinary departments of border provinces and relevant veterinary laboratories attended the meeting.