13th AMAF+3, 2013

Joint Press Statement of the 13th ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministers of Agriculture of the Peoples Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (AMAF Plus Three), 23 September 2013, Kuala Lumpur

Ministerial-level Statements
Economic Cooperations
Food, Agriculture, and Forestry
AMAF+3

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  23 September 2013

27 September 2013, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. We, the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministers of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea held our Thirteenth Meeting on 27 September 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, under the Chairmanship of  H.E. Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob , Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry of Malaysia .

2. We reaffirmed our strong support in further enhancing cooperation in food, agriculture and forestry sector, including food security, as guided by the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders’ Joint Statement on the Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation.

3. In reviewing ASEAN Plus Three cooperation in 2012-2013, we were pleased with the good progress made in the implementation of the various on-going activities under the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Strategy (APTCS) Framework, especially in the areas of food security, agricultural technology, climate change mitigation and adaptation, control and eradication of trans-boundary pest and animal diseases.

4. We noted with appreciation the good progress in the implementation of the A SEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Agreement that include the submission of instrument of ratification by all APTERR parties, the organisation of the 1st APTERR Council Meeting on 28 March 2013, the launching of the APTERR Secretariat on 29 March 2013 as well as finalisation of key documents to support the operationalisation of APTERR.  We further tasked the SOM-AMAF Plus Three to expedite the nominations of Council Member, Country Coordinator and Coordinating Agency to support the full operation of the APTERR .  We noted the implementation of the APTERR Tier 3 programme contributed by Japan in responding to the food emergency situations in Lao PDR and the Philippines in 2013. We encouraged to expedite the process of legal personality of APTERR Secretariat for operationalisation of APTERR.

5. We noted the progress of the transformation of the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) into a permanent scheme though the evaluation on its effectiveness and usefulness at the national and regional levels. We noted the progress of project initiated in 2013, in which AFSIS and Statistics Department of the MAFF closely cooperated in developing Food Security Forecasting Model project which has been supported by Japan. We encouraged the Plus Three Countries to support the capacity building at the national level of AMS during the transformation period.

6. We expressed satisfaction with the implementation progress of various activities to support the implementation of the ASEAN Plus Three Comprehensive Strategy on Food Security and Bioenergy, including (i) the ASEAN-FAO Project on Bioenergy and Food Security in ASEAN; (ii) SOM-AMAF Plus Three and SOME Plus Three Consultation Meeting, held on 30-31 October 2012 in Bangkok; and (iii) the 6th ASEAN Plus Three Biomass Forum, held on 16-19 May 2013 in Wuhan, China; (iv) the 5th ASEAN Plus Three Roundtable Meeting on Food Security, held on 10-11 July 2013, Harbin, China; (v) ASEAN Plus China Senior Officers Consultation Meeting on Agricultural Strategy Cooperation Framework and field study on rice research and production in the provinces of Heilongjiang and Hunan, held  on 12-18 July 2013. We reaffirmed our support for the ASEAN-FAO Bioenergy and Food Security Project to formulate regional and national roadmaps for sustainable bioenergy.

7. We welcomed the OIE/ Japan Trust Fund ( JTF ) Project on Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Control in Asia in collaboration with the South-East Asia and China Foot and Mouth Disease (SEACFMD) Campaign.  We noted the necessity of the new OIE/ Japan Trust Fund ( JTF ) project under “One Health Concept”, where HPAI and Rabies planned to be covered.

8. We agreed to meet again at the 14th Meeting of AMAF Plus Three in Myanmar in 2014.

9. The Ministers from other ASEAN Member States, the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea expressed their sincere appreciation to the Government and People of Malaysia for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements made for the 13th AMAF Plus Three Meeting.

The Meeting was attended by:

  1. H.E. Pehin Dato Yahya, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Brunei Darussalam
  2. H.E. Mr. San Vanty, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia
  3. H.E. Dr. Suswono, Minister of Agriculture, Indonesia
  4. H.E. Dr.  Phouangparisak Pravongviengkham, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR
  5. H.E. Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob , Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Malaysia
  6. H.E. U Myint Hlaing, Union Minister  for Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Myanmar
  7. H.E Mr. Jose Eduardo E. Malaya III, the Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia , Philippines
  8. H.E. Dr. Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, Minister of State for  National Development and Defence, Singapore
  9. H.E. Mr. Yukol Limlamthong , Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand
  10. H.E. Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu , Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam
  11. H.E Mr. Niu Dun, Vice Minister of Agriculture, PR China
  12. H.E. Mr. Taku Eto , Senior Vice- Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
  13. H.E. Mr. Lee Junwon , Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea
  14. Mr. Tran Dong Phuong, Director of Finance, Industries and Infrastructure Directorate, ASEAN Economic Community Department , ASEAN Secretariat.