On 5 August 2020, the APTERR Secretariat attended the Special Senior Officials Meeting of the 19th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (Special SOM-19th AMAF+3) via the video conference.
Mr. Chanpithya Shimphalee, the General Manager of the APTERR Secretariat, reported the progress of the APTERR activities during 2019-2020 including the ratification of the Protocol to Amend the Attachment 2 of the APTERR Agreement, contribution of the APTERR Fund and implementation of Tier 1 and Tier 3 generously supported (rice assistance) by Japan and the Republic of Korea. This year, the APTERR Secretariat also introduced Japan’s new initiative on utilising a precooked rice through the Tier 3 programme with the aim of increasing the APTERR’s capacity on providing a speedy rice assistance during the emergency. Furthermore, Mr. Shimphalee highlighted the APTERR’s commitment on supporting a full utilisation of its existing mechanism for ensuring food security and minimising uncertain impacts posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Meeting noted with satisfaction the abovementioned achievements and recommended the APTERR Secretariat to closely monitor a food security situation in the region, especially in this unprecedented time of Covid-19 pandemic.
The next SSOM-20th AMAF+3 Meetings will be hosted by Cambodia in 2021.
