On 9 February 2023, the APTERR Secretariat led by Dr. Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, General Manager (GM), together with Mr. Toshiki Tojo, Japanese Expert, as well as the APTERR staff had a great opportunity to attend an online meeting with ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) led by Mr. Satvinder Signh, Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) for ASEAN Economic Community, along with Dr. Pham Quang Minh, Head of Food, Agriculture and Forestry Division (FAFD) and Mr. Akhmad Ramadhan Fatah, Officer of the FAFD.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss on APTERR’s history and its activities as well as plans for moving forward in strengthening food security in the region
Dr. Karnjanakesorn introduced the APTERR mechanisms and updated on the current activities. In addition, Mr. Tojo also presented Japan’s initiatives; ‘Precooked rice’ and ‘School Rice Distribution’ under the Tier 3 programme to improve the APTERR’s existing mechanisms in making a rapid response to the emergency and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending hunger. Both sides actively exchanged views and experiences on the current situation of APTERR as an important organisation for strengthening food security in ASEAN Plus Three countries.
In this regard, the APTERR Secretariat received valuable suggestion and commendation from the ASEAN Secretariat on APTERR’s activities and plan. These would greatly contribute to the potential of APTERR’s future direction and current activities.
At the end of discussion, both emphasised the importance of APTERR’s activities as well as the close cooperation between the APTERR Secretariat and the ASEAN Secretariat in promoting food security in ASEAN.
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