PROMOTING COOPERATION AND INNOVATION IN AGRICULTURE AMONG ASEAN COUNTRIES, CHINA, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA

On August 7, in Hue City, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held The Special Senior Officials’ Meeting of the 18th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea).

Attending the conference were more than 150 delegates who were senior officials of 10 ASEAN countries, leaders of agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of ASEAN countries and international organizations. Mr Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN; Mr Phan Ngoc Tho, Chairman of People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province and Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh also attended the Meeting.

The ASEAN+ 3 AMAF Meeting discussed and approved a number of prioritized aspects in the agricultural sector such as: (i) ASEAN + 3 Policy framework related to Food, Agriculture and Forestry; (ii) Cooperative activities of AMAF ASEAN +3 in areas such as: Food Security, Sustainable Forest Management, Climate Change Adaptation and Response, Disease Control and Management on Plants and Livestock. Besides, the Conference also discussed the preparation for the Special SOM-19th AMAF Plus Three Meeting which was scheduled to be organized in Brunei Darussalam in 2020.

Speaking at the Conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development - Mr Le Quoc Doanh congratulated ASEAN Plus Three countries on the important achievements gained in the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Strategy for the period 2016-2025 with many programs, projects, research and development activities in the fields of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery; At the same time, the ASEAN Plus Three countries are requested to continue promoting cooperation to enhance capacity, technology transfer and innovation in agriculture in each country.

Mr Phan Ngoc Tho - Chairman of Thua Thien Hue People's Committee emphasized the role of agriculture in the development of Thua Thien Hue province, as well as the wish to promote investment attraction and technology transfer from other countries within ASEAN Plus Three region, especially from China, Japan, and Korea to further support the development of the province's agriculture sector.