Officials from MND and AVA, led by Senior Minister of State Dr Koh Poh Koon, attended the 39th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF), and the 17th Meeting of the AMAF Plus Three on 28-29 September 2017 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
As the immediate past AMAF Chairman, Singapore handed the AMAF Chairmanship over to Thailand at this meeting. During the past year, Singapore hosted events including the 38th AMAF Meeting and 16th AMAF Plus Three meetings; the Special Senior Officials’ meetings; as well as various Sectoral Working Group meetings. In October 2016 in Singapore, AMAF leaders also completed the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Animal Health and Zoonoses – the Centre will enhance the prevention and control of transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases in the region.
In Chiang Mai, AMAF leaders exchanged views on regional development in the food, agriculture, and forestry sectors. Several guidelines, frameworks, and documents related to food security, food safety and agricultural product quality, as well as fisheries were also endorsed.
In addition, AMAF leaders welcomed Singapore’s initiatives in building partnerships and technical capacities to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In consultation with ASEAN Member States, Singapore developed the ASEAN Guidelines on Prudent Use of Antimicrobials in Livestock, and will be spearheading ASEAN cooperation in fighting AMR in the aquaculture sector. These efforts provide opportunities for ASEAN to learn from each other through the sharing of best practices. They also complement Singapore’s National Strategic Action Plan to combat AMR, which was jointly developed by One Health agencies including AVA.
The Agriculture Ministers from ASEAN Member States, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea also noted the assessment on the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Strategy (APTCS) on Food, Agriculture and Forestry (2011-2015), as well as the various collaborative activities implemented. To continue this cooperation framework, the Ministers endorsed the APTCS on Food, Agriculture and Forestry for the period 2016 to 2025, to provide the scope and strategic areas for this cooperation.