Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Attends ASEAN+3 Agriculture and Forestry Ministers Meeting... Discussing Asia Food Security

Lee Jae-wook, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (center), attended the "20th ASEAN+3 Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Meeting" held via video on the 21st. During the meeting, they discussed joint responses to food security amid the COVID-19 situation and cooperation measures between ASEAN and Korea, China, and Japan.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Lee Jae-wook, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, attended the '20th ASEAN+3 Ministers of Agriculture Meeting' held via video conference on the 21st, where he discussed joint responses to food security amid the COVID-19 pandemic and cooperation measures among ASEAN and Korea, China, and Japan.

This meeting followed the ASEAN+3 Special Summit (April 14) and brought together agriculture ministers from 13 countries to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on regional food security and joint response strategies. The meeting was held to share each country's COVID-19 impacts and response policies in the agriculture and food sectors, review the implementation of cooperative projects, and adopt the chair’s report and joint press statement based on agreements among ASEAN+3 countries.

Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, the chair country, requested member states to cooperate in addressing food supply chain disruptions and food security concerns caused by the spread of COVID-19. The member countries agreed on the necessity to establish policies to enhance resilience and sustainability in the agriculture and food sectors in the mid to long term and shared the intention to take proactive measures at the ASEAN+3 level.

Vice Minister Lee emphasized in his keynote speech that Korea and ASEAN are economic cooperation partners and strategic partners based on trust. He also evaluated that significant cooperation and exchanges have taken place within the ASEAN+3 Ministers of Agriculture meetings. Highlighting the heightened sense of crisis regarding food security due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, he stressed the need for international cooperation more than ever and urged strengthening cooperation among ASEAN, Korea, China, and Japan. He also requested special efforts for joint research and joint quarantine measures among countries against transboundary animal diseases.

The delegation shared progress on the ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and the ASEAN+3 Food Security Information System (AFSIS), as well as achievements in food and agriculture cooperation under the '2016?2025 ASEAN+3 Cooperation Strategy,' and exchanged views on future strategies.

Korea has supported a total of 17,000 tons of rice since 2017 under the ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR). This year, Korea provided 1,950 tons of rice for disaster relief to the Philippines, which suffered victims from natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions, and plans to supply 1,000 tons of rice for COVID-19 preparedness to Myanmar and the Philippines through the APTERR Secretariat. The ministers and vice ministers of the 13 member countries attending the meeting issued a joint press statement and concluded the meeting by agreeing to hold the 21st ASEAN+3 Ministers of Agriculture Meeting in Indonesia.

Regarding this meeting, Vice Minister Lee said, "Through the ASEAN+3 Ministers of Agriculture Meeting, we expect to strengthen agricultural cooperation with key countries in the New Southern Policy region, contribute to food security and sustainable development, and solidify the foundation for our agricultural food exports and agricultural enterprises’ advancement."