1. 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 their Ninth Meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan on 11 November 2009, under the chairmanship of H.E Pehin Dato Yahya, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Brunei Darussalam.
2. The Ministers from the Plus Three Countries (People’s Republic of China, Japan and Republic of Korea) expressed their firm support in advancing cooperation in food, agriculture, and forestry sectors under the purview of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015) declared by the 14th ASEAN Summit in March 2009. The Ministers also agreed to address in narrowing development gap in ASEAN and strengthen cooperation in alleviating poverty and promoting human development activities through implementation of AMAF Plus Three activities and provision of technical assistance.
3. The Ministers welcomed Cha-am Hua Hin Statement on ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation on Food Security and Bio-Energy Development declared by the 12th ASEAN Plus Three Summit. The Ministers expressed their commitment to develop a comprehensive strategy on sustainable and integrated food and bio-fuels production and consumption that will promote better allocation of resources for the production of both food and bio-fuels. The Ministers reiterated that food security is a major contributing factor for sustained economic and social development and stability in the region. The Ministers recognized the necessity for each country, particularly developing countries, to achieve food security through utilizing all available resources for food production as much as possible and increasing agricultural productivity.
4. Responding to climate change, the Ministers noted the ASEAN Joint Statement on Climate Change to the 15th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 5th Session of the Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and expressed their commitment to work closely together to ensure a successful outcome of the 15th Session of the Conference of the Parties to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009. In this direction, the Ministers agreed to support in addressing adaptation and mitigation issues to ensure the stability of food supply in the region.
5. The Ministers agreed to strengthen and accelerate the implementation of the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR) Pilot Project activities, which is designed to respond to the humanitarian needs in the case of natural disasters and emergency situation. As tasked by the 12th ASEAN Plus Three Summit on 24 October 2009, the Ministers agreed to work towards the transformation of EAERR into a permanent mechanism under the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and early realization of APTERR in order to ensure the continuation of regional food security mechanism immediately after the expiration of the EAERR Pilot Project.
6. The Ministers welcomed the further progress made in the 2nd phase of ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Project on its activities including Early Warning Information and Agricultural Commodity Outlook.
7. The Ministers appreciated the ASEAN + 3 biomass energy forum and project for Biomass Town programs in East Asia, and recognized the importance of promoting sustainable biomass utilization.
8. The Ministers appreciated the First Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three Roundtable on Food Security Cooperation Strategy in China, and expressed the consensus of the roundtable is of particular importance in terms of upgrading the region’s food productivity, furthering regional cooperation, and ultimately guaranteeing food security. The Ministers welcomed Japan’s proposal for the 2nd Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three Roundtable on Food Security Cooperation Strategy to be held in Japan in 2010.
9. The Ministers expressed their satisfaction on the project activities as well as the solid progress of the evaluation of those activities as instructed by the 8th AMAF Plus Three Meeting. The Ministers endorsed nine new project proposals from the Plus Three Countries, which aim to build capacity in agricultural development and sustainable aquaculture.
10. The Ministers agreed to have their Tenth Meeting in Cambodia in 2010. The Ministers expressed their sincere appreciation to the Government and People of Brunei Darussalam for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements made for the Meeting.
The Meeting was attended by:
a. H.E. Pehin Dato Yahya, Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Brunei Darussalam
b. H.E. Mr. Chan Tong Yves, Secretary of State of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia
c. H.E. Mr. Suswono, Minister of Agriculture, Indonesia
d. H.E. Mr. Sitaheng Rasphone, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR
e. H.E. Dato’ Wira Mohd. Johari Baharum, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Malaysia
f. H.E. Major General Htay Oo, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Myanmar
g. H.E. Atty. Arthur C Yap, Secretary of Agriculture, Philippines
h. H.E. Dr. Mohamad Maliki Osman, Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, Singapore
i. H.E. Mr. Theera Wongsamut, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand
j. H.E. Dr. Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam
k. H.E. Mr. Zhang Taolin, Vice Minister of Agriculture, People’s Republic of China
l. H.E. Mr. Hidenori Murakami, Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
m. H.E. Mr. Byungrin Yoo, Deputy Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of Korea
n. H.E. Mr. S. Pushpanathan, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community
