--- SEARCH ---
WEATHER
CHINA
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
CULTURE
GOVERNMENT
SCI-TECH
ENVIRONMENT
LIFE
PEOPLE
TRAVEL
WEEKLY REVIEW
Learning Chinese
Learn to Cook Chinese Dishes
Exchange Rates


Hot Links
China Development Gateway
Chinese Embassies


'ASEAN plus Three' Continues Agricultural Cooperation

Agriculture ministers from ASEAN countries and China, Japan and South Korea on Friday decided to continue agricultural cooperation in various areas.

The decision was announced by a joint press statement issued in Kuala Lumpur at the end of the third meeting of the ASEAN agriculture and forestry ministers and ministers of the three East Asian countries (ASEAN plus Three).

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), founded in 1967, groups ten countries in the region with some 550 million people and the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about US$646 billion.

The ministers welcomed the new projects proposed for this year and the coming year, indicating that the continuous cooperation would be instrumental in fostering good relations and contributing to the stable and equitable development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry in the region.

The cooperation between ASEAN and the three countries covers six areas including food security, research and development on food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, human resource development and trade facilitation for agricultural products in the region.

The ministers agreed that advancement of agricultural production was one of the most effective strategies for poverty reduction and economic development in the region, the statement said.

Recognizing that the stable supply of rice was key to regional food security, the ministers reaffirmed the importance of establishing the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve System, it said.

Rice, 90 percent grown in Asia, is the staple food for about two-thirds of the world population. The United Nations General Assembly at its 57th session in December 2002 declared the year 2004 as the International Year of Rice.

For protection of forestry resources, the ministers called for collaboration between the governments and civil societies to preserve precious ecosystems of the forest and establish sustainable forestry in the region, it said.

The statement also expressed their full support to the accession of Cambodia to the WHO at the ministerial meeting in September this year.

The ASEAN plus Three cooperation was initiated at the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur in December 1997.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2003)

China, ASEAN Vow to Advance Relations to New Level
China-ASEAN Trade Volume Up 45.3 Percent in First Half Year
ASEAN Plus Three Mechanism Boosting Regional Economy
ASEM Set to Boost China-ASEAN Free Trade Area
China-ASEAN Relations Develop Fast: Chinese FM
Print This Page
|
Email This Page
About Us SiteMap Feedback
Copyright © China Internet Information Center. All Rights Reserved
E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-68326688