The 8th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Council was successfully conducted on 17-19 February 2020 in Bagan, Myanmar. The Meeting was organised by the APTERR Secretariat and hosted by the Department of Agriculture (DOA), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) of Myanmar.
The Meeting was attended by the APTERR member countries except Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea due to unforeseen circumstances. Representatives from the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) Secretariat, the ASEAN Plus Three Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat and the APTERR Secretariat were also present in this significant Meeting. The Meeting was presided over by H.E. Kyaw Min Oo, Permanent Secretary of Agriculture Sector, the MOALI.
The arrangement of the APTERR Council meeting is one of key functions of the APTERR Secretariat. The APTERR Council will annually gather at least once to discuss the direction of the APTERR in the following year. It is also an opportunity for the APTERR Secretariat to report its activities from the previous year to the APTERR Council.
This year, the Meeting was chaired only by Mr. Aye Ko Ko, Deputy Director General of the DOA, the MOALI due to the absence of the APTERR Council from the Republic of Korea (ROK) as an ongoing Co-Chair. Discussion issues were an update of the ratification of the Protocol to Amend the Attachment of the APTERR Agreement, financial contribution, work plan and budget plan, achievements on the implementation of the Tier 1 programme and emergency rice releases to member countries under theTier 3 programme, the new Tier 3 programme for 2020 as well as a review and evaluation of APTERR programmes and activities.
The hosted country also arranged the site visits for all participants to appreciate an ancient city of Bagan which is UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Successful outcomes of the Meeting will help improve an operation of the APTERR to become more efficient and effective in providing rice assistance to people in time of emergency and strengthening food security and poverty alleviation as well as malnourishment eradication.
Summary Report:
