EcoFoodSystems Research Project

Celebrating 30 years of Vietnam-Ireland relations: EcoFoodSystems at the Embassy of Vietnam in Ireland

Ciara Varley

The University of Galway’s EcoFoodSystems team were honoured to be invited by His Excellency, Pham Toan Thang, Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and his spouse, Mrs. Le Thi, to a reception hosted by the Embassy of Vietnam in Ireland at St. Helen’s Hotel, Dublin on Monday, September 21st, 2026.

The reception was held to celebrate the 81st Anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Ireland (1996 – 2026).

EcoFoodSystems Principal Investigator, Dr. Peter McKeown, and Communications and Partnership Officer, Ms. Ciara Varley, were delighted to attend the event as representatives of the EcoFoodSystems project.

The reception hosted by the Embassy of Vietnam in Ireland at St. Helen’s Hotel, Dublin on Monday, September 21st, 2026.

The EcoFoodSystems project carries out research supporting more sustainable, healthy and affordable diets for Hanoi city residents. The project is working with local and national stakeholders in Vietnam to generate evidence, research and tools that can support more sustainable, healthy and affordable diets in Hanoi city region. The project is led by an Irish university, the University of Galway, in partnership with Rikolto in Vietnam and Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. The project is supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and funded through the European Union’s DeSIRA initiative.

Hanoi, Vietnam – 14th April 2026 – Participants and EcoFoodSystems team members at the first day of the Technical Consultation of the EcoFoodSystems’ City Regional Decision-Support Dashboard.
Hanoi, Vietnam – 14th April 2026 – Participants at the first day of the Technical Consultation of the EcoFoodSystems’ City Regional Decision-Support Dashboard. Photo Credit: Nhung Tuyet Vuong, Rikolto.
24 Jan. – Hanoi, Vietnam – A group of four participants discuss research priorities for enabling scaling of sustainable, healthy and affordable diets for marginalised food consumers in the Hanoi food systemirectly under the photo. Photo credit: VTC16
24 Jan. – Hanoi, Vietnam – 60 participants attending the EcoFoodSystems Multistakeholder Workshop pose for a group photo. Participants across different sectors met to discuss key research questions related to sustainable food system transformation in Hanoi. Photo credit: VTC16.
The EcoFoodSystems project works with collaborators in at Hanoi city level and national level to support more sustainable, healthy and affordable diets in Hanoi city region.

The University of Galway are fortunate to enjoy many partnerships with other institutions in Vietnam, including with the Vietnam National University of Agriculture through the Ireland-Vietnam AgriFood Partnership (IVAP) and Vietnam Ireland Bilateral Education Exchange (VIBE) Programme; and with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Centre for Agrarian Systems Research and Development, and Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) through the EcoFoodSystems project.

Earlier this year, the project held a two-day dashboard testing consultation in Hanoi, Vietnam, in collaboration with CASRAD. Follow-on events related to EcoFoodSystems research with Hanoi food system stakeholders are scheduled for this October.

The team looks forward to meeting colleagues in Hanoi city later this year to forward further research and innovation activities with our collaborators and project parters in Vietnam.