ASEAN, Australia bolster agriculture, food trade

ASEAN ambassadors to Australia paid a working visit to Toowoomba of Queensland state on August 14-16 (Illustrative photo: VNA)

Sydney (VNA) – ASEAN ambassadors to Australia paid a working visit to Toowoomba of Queensland state on August 14-16 to boost ASEAN-Australia cooperation on agriculture, infrastructure, logistics and food distribution in rural areas.

Geraldine Doumany, Principal Trade and Investment officer of Queensland, said the trip provides an opportunity to look at the state’s businesses and get a broader understanding of Australian localities.

Toowoomba is a technology hub of food and agriculture, and export of those products is also drawing investment, she added.

During the working visit, the ASEAN ambassadors attended a roundtable on ways to build food and agriculture networks. They also sought measures to foster ASEAN-Australia cooperation in food distribution, agricultural infrastructure in rural areas and export/import markets.

On the occasion, industries in Toowoomba introduced their strengths to the ambassadors, expanding connection between industries and governments as well as listed opportunities and challenges in boosting ASEAN-Australia agriculture and food trade.

The trip, organised by the Australia-ASEAN Council, was part of the activities on the threshold of the Australia-ASEAN Special Summit in March 2018. This was the first time that the ASEAN representatives had come to Toowoomba to discuss agricultural trade and economy.-VNA