Vietnamese participants actively shared experience in ensuring foodsecurity at the 35th ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) meetingheld in Malaysia on June 3-5.

Delegates from theSoutheast Asian country also contributed ideas to improve the board’soperational efficiency and seek international technical and financialassistance.

The annual event drew representativesfrom the ASEAN Secretariat, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the ASEAN Food Security InformationSystem and the ASEAN plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve.

Attendees discussed ways to stabilise food prices, increase productionand seek trade opportunities among ASEAN countries in the long run.

They also exchanged information on food security in Southeast Asia andaround the world as well as policies and programmes pertaining tonational food security, production, reserve and consumption focusing onspecific sectors such as rice, maize, soybean and sugarcane.

They discussed issues raised at the 35 th ASEAN Ministers onAgriculture and Forestry meeting, the ASEAN Summit and Dialogue Partnersand the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security for the ASEAN Region(SPA-FS) in 2015 and 2020.

Participants alsoreviewed orientations to promote cooperation between ASEAN organisationswith partners outside the bloc, such as the FAO, OECD and ADB.-VNA