On 10 January 2024, Dr. Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, General Manager of the APTERR Secretariat along with Mr. Akinori Ando, Japanese Expert, warmly welcomed Mr. Kenichi Hirano, Director of Grain Trade and Operation Division, Crop Production Bureau, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan to the APTERR Secretariat office in Bangkok, Thailand.
The MAFF-Japan representative affirmed that Japan would continue to support the APTERR’s activities including Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 as well as new Tier 3-related initiatives, such as the pre-cooked rice and the School Distribution Programme, to strengthen food security in the ASEAN Plus Three region.
Moreover, the APTERR Secretariat and MAFF-Japan exchanged views on the regional rice situation and shared an update on the coming 12th Council Meeting which would be held in April 2024 in Beijing, P.R. China.