Dr. Choomject Karnjanakesorn, General Manager of the APTERR Secretariat, led his team in a visit to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) of Lao PDR on 6 November 2024 to discuss the APTERR activities, focusing on Tier 3 programme implementation to enhance food security in the country.
The APTERR team received a warm welcome from Dr. Boundeth Southavilay, Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation (DoPC), MAF. The two sides held productive discussions covering on-going Tier 3 activities, challenges to address for more effective future Tier 3 implementation, rice fortification and the upcoming APTERR Council Meeting.
Currently, 902 MT of rice contributed by P.R. China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) under FY 2023 Tier 3 has been released to alleviate the hardship caused by recent floods across the country. Still, 220 MT of rice under FY 2023 remains prepositioned in Lao PDR, with a further 3,700 MT scheduled for delivery under FY 2024 Tier 3, contributed by P.R. China (400 MT), Japan (300 MT) and the ROK (3,000 MT) to enhance Lao PDR’s emergency response preparedness.
The meeting was also attended by Mr. Alounxay Onta, Director and Mr. Sakpasit Manibod, Officer from the DoPc of MAF; Mr. Phosavanh Thammavongxay, Deputy Head of Division, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of Lao PDR; Mr. Akinori Ando, Japanese Expert, Ms. Jansinee Kankaew, Head of Implementation and Ms. Sita Kumpol, Secretary to the Japanese Expert of APTERR Secretariat.
