JAKARTA, 24 January 2014 - In a courtesy call on the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Le Luong Minh this week, the Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan, H.E. Takamori Yoshizawa stressed that the Government of Japan praised the good cooperation between ASEAN and Japan in the food and agriculture sectors.

In welcoming the Senior Vice Minister, SG Minh conveyed that ASEAN appreciates the cooperation with Japan in the areas of agriculture and food security. He also expressed his gratitude on Japan's support in ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS).

The Senior Vice Minister Yoshizawa also uttered Japan's high interest in forging cooperation with ASEAN in agriculture, especially in the human resource development. As part of the 40th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation celebration, MAFF was holding "Symposium on Human Resources Development in Food-related Area through Partnership with ASEAN Universities" on 21 January 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia. He expressed that the output of Symposium could be explored more through partnership in enhancing human resources development in agriculture between ASEAN and Japan.

SG Minh acknowledged the important role of human resources development in agriculture as a key channel for enhancing ASEAN-Japan relations through promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the agriculture and economic areas.

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