 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| VIETNAMESE AMBASSADOR TO U.S. VISITS STATE CAPITOL FOR TRADE MEETING |
|---|
WPR News - Vietnamese Ambassador to U.S. visits state Capitol for trade meeting
|
|
Tuesday April 17, 2012
by Gilman Halsted
|
|
|---|
|
(STATE CAPITOL) The Secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says Wisconsin exports to Vietnam are growing. Ben Brancel held a trade meeting with the Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Monday (4/16) at the State Capitol.
Wisconsin's exports to Vietnam have gone up 55 percent in the last year. Vietnam already imports about $6.5 million a year in dairy products from Wisconsin and $9 million a year in soybeans. Brancel says guaranteeing the quality of Wisconsin's exports was a major topic of discussion during the ambassador's visit, "If we just distribute a product and don't help them to safeguard it from disease or other kinds of problems there won't be long term sustainable marketing opportunities there. So we're committed to making sure we have people in place to help them with products."
Wisconsin ginseng growers met with the Vietnamese ambassador this week in an effort to sell more of their crop which is now competing with Korean ginseng for a larger share of the Vietnamese market. Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong says he is also hoping to send more Vietnamese students to the University of Wisconsin. He wants to maintain a long tradition of educational and research exchange between Vietnam and UW-Madison that began in the 1980's with the help of professor Judith Ladinsky who founded the U.S. Committee for Scientific Cooperation with Vietnam, "With her assistance and guidance hundreds of Vietnamese students were able to study at the university in the United States especially at Madison and La Crosse. I think an individual can make a big difference and make an impact and leave a legacy."
Ladinsky died in January and the ambassador attended a special memorial service for her this past Sunday in Madison.
|
| You can also listen to this story or download it now! |
 |
 |
(1:35) |
|
|
|
