Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu is leading a Vietnamese delegation to the 35 th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF 35) and related meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from September 26-28.

At the meetings, including the 13 th AMAF+3 (with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) and the 3 rd ASEAN-India ministerial meeting on agro-forestry cooperation, the ministers affirmed the significance of agro-forestry-fishery cooperation within the framework of AMAF and AMAF+3.

They also called for further cooperation in the region for a dynamic and sustainable ASEAN community.

The ministers discussed and put forth important policies relating to food security, climate change response in the agro-forestry-fishery sector, building regional standards for products in the sector to increase their position and competitive edge regionally and internationally.

They recognised and spoke highly of the outcomes of the Framework Programme on ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS), the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security (SPA-FS), the ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) which began in March 2013, the organisation of the 2 nd ASEAN Rice Forum and the maintenance of the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS).

They voiced their support for the initiatives and cooperation programmes with China, Japan and the RoK, other countries such as Switzerland, Germany and the US, and international organisations including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) on food security and climate change response.

The ministers adopted documents regarding agro-product trade promotion, recognised the outcomes and reviewed the implementation of action plans on cooperation, forestry and fishery veterinary.
Within the framework of AMAF 35 and related meetings, the ministers signed a number of cooperation agreements with ASEAN partners.

They agreed to organise the next series of events in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in 2014.-NVA