Jakarta – The Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry of Malaysia, Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob and his delegation paid a courtesy call on Secretary-General of ASEAN,  Le Luong Minh, at the ASEAN Secretariat yesterday.

SG Minh conveyed his congratulations to Minister Yaakob as current chair of ASEAN Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF). He emphasised that with Minister Yaakob’s immense knowledge and experience in the field of agriculture in regional and global context, his leadership would bring “great value to ASEAN cooperation on food, agriculture and forestry”.

The Malaysian delegation was also briefed on the development of ASEAN Community 2015 including the opportunities and challenges. SG Minh highlighted the need to enhance food security and nutrition in the region in the context of growing population and global demand for food.

In this regard, the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework and Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security (SPA-FS) in post-2015 play an important role in addressing the issues, together with other solutions to enhance agricultural productivities and increase investment in agricultural science and technology.

Minister Yaakob mentioned that the Special Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) 35th AMAF and its related meetings will be organised in Malaysia in August. These meetings will discuss in detail the ASEAN cooperation on food, agriculture and forestry with focus on key issues, such as food security, reduction of post-harvest loss and climate change. He further emphasised the collaboration between ASEAN and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) by proposing ASEAN – FAO Save Food Campaign to strengthen cooperation in specific areas of food security and food safety.

Photo: The Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry of Malaysia, Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob (r.) meets the Secretary-General of ASEAN,  Le Luong Minh.