INDONESIA, FAO ESTABLISH FOOD SECURITY COOPERTION
03 April 2009
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The Indonesian government signed a Letter of Intent on food security with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The LoI, according to the foreign ministry, was signed by Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono and the FAO director general Jaques Diouff on the sidelines of the FAO Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, this week.

The signing of the LoI was done also in the presence of the Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand Mohammad Hatta, and the Indonesian Ambassador to Italy Mohammad Umar.

In the Asia and Pacific region, and among the other developing countries, Indonesia was believed to have a high commitment to maintain food security stability. For the Indonesian success, FAO has asked Indonesia to contribute to increasing food security and agricultural development in other developing countries.

In this case, FAO asked for Indonesian help for its experts, technology transfer and other technical assistance to the other developing countries under the South-South Cooperation framework. 

The cooperation is also based on Indonesia`s experience in the 1982-2002 period, which has given technical assistance for a number of countries in Asia and Africa.
In his tour of Thailand, the agriculture minister also had a bilateral meeting with his Thai counterpart Theera Wongsamut to discuss Indonesia`s initiative for an RI-Thailand Expert Group Meeting on an exchange of information and the success of the two countries in reaching food security. (*)

Sumber: Antara News online - www.antara.co.id