The project has laid the foundation for the institute to increase international cooperation. Following successful implementation of that project, the institute continued to receive the support of UNDP and FAO to carry out the second phase of the project, VIE 93/001 (1995-1996) aiming at forming a fishery extension network for northern provinces. Also in that period, the institute cooperated with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) to develop an aquaculture development program in mountainous areas in the north and train the technical staff for northern provinces.

Successful international cooperation has helped the Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1 develop as a multifunctional research institute with its operation covering three fields: research, fishery extension, and training.

As a result of the dynamism and the enthusiasm of its entire staff, over the past 10 years (1996-2006), the institute has expanded international cooperation and received the support of many international organizations such as UNDP, FAO, DANIDA, AIT, SIDA, ACIAR, DFID, ICLARM, EU, AusAID, and ADB. Following are some projects that the institute has carried out successfully with international support: 'Building research and training capabilities,' funded by the Norway Government, 'Environmental management in coastal aquaculture areas,' funded by UNDP and DANIDA, 'Supporting commercial and sustainable aquaculture by developing small-sized cooperatives to help poverty alleviation in Vietnam,' funded by the Spanish Government, 'Building the capability to research on parasites that cause diseases for humans and aquatic animals,' funded by the Danish Government. Those projects have helped the institute build up its scientific and technological potential. At present, the institute has a highly qualified scientific and technological staff. Many of its staff members have been trained in foreign countries such as England, America, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Japan and Thailand.

The support of international organizations has helped the staff of the institute promote the application of scientific research results and modern technologies in practical production. The institute has successfully recommended technological solutions to expand household-sized pisciculture in order to contribute to poverty alleviation in Vietnam. The institute has put into application modern breeding techniques to expand the industrial-style breeding of sea fish in cages. Some new models of fish breeding have been successfully experimented, for example breeding fish in rice fields in Hoa Binh and Son La, and breeding fish in small and medium-sized reservoirs in Yen Bai and Thai Nguyen provinces by semi-intensive methods.

Not only successful in the field of scientific research, the institute has also become a reputable training institution. With support of DANIDA and the NORAD project, the institute has cooperated with the Agriculture University No. 1, the Hanoi National University and the Nha Trang Fishery University to carry out a university and postgraduate training project in the field of aquaculture. Under the project, 11 university training courses have been conducted (262 students have graduated and 50 others will graduate in late 2007), and eight postgraduate training courses (61 have graduated and 65 are studying in the institute).

International cooperation has helped the institute become one of the leading organizations in the field of aquaculture research not only in Vietnam but also in the region and the world as a whole. For its achievements in aquaculture development, the institute has been authorized by the Fishery Ministry to coordinate with the World Aquaculture Society to hold the 2007 World-Asian Pacific Aquaculture Conference (detailed information about the conference is available at website www.was.org or www.ria1.org).

In the future, the institute will continue to expand international cooperation to contribute to developing the Vietnamese fishery sector. Two major tasks of the institute continue to be 1) contributing to hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and 2) creating commercial products with high safety in terms of food hygiene to meet the increasing demand of the market. International cooperation will cover the fields of nutrition, animal health management, breeding, assessing environmental impacts, food safety and hygiene, and socioeconomic matters.

The leadership and the entire staff of the institute would like to express their deep gratitude to international organizations for their active support over the past years and hope that they will continue to help the institute further develop in the future.

Le Thanh Luu, director of Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1