On 23 April, 2026, the APTERR Secretariat team led by Dr. Choomjet Karnjanakesorn and Mr. Aro Kasakawa, Japanese Expert, together with AFSIS Secretariat team led by Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, were invited to virtually attend the ‘Ad Hoc Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) Preparatory Meeting for Special ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Meeting (AMAF) on the Latest Situation in the Middle East’ to present the Meeting on the food security and proposed coordinated measures to enhance regional food and agriculture resilience, particularly in response to emerging challenges and potential emergency situation caused by the current situation in the Middle East. The Meeting was also participated by various relevant organisation such as SOM-AMAF Leader, ASEAN Member States, ASEAN Secretariat, and Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF).
In this regard, Dr. Karnjanekesorn has presented the APTERR mechanisms and APTERR rice assistance information to the meeting while also provided the recommendations on how to effectively utilise APTERR stocks in response to the challenges and feasible food insecurity situations in the ASEAN region which would be further reported and discussed in the AMAF.
