Delegates at the meeting (Source: VNA)

The event was formed as part of the activities during the APEC 2017 Food Security Week and a High-Level Policy Dialogue on Enhancing Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture in Response to Climate Change.

According to Gong Xifeng, head of the ATGWG, the group has made great contributions to most APEC economies in hi-tech agriculture, helping ensure food safety and security in the region.

The group has focused on cooperation in agricultural technology to enhance the capability of the APEC member economies in agricultural production and relevant sectors, thus improving the agricultural products market in the region and bettering the implementation of relevant regulations in line with the free trade agreements (FTAs).

From 2017-2018, the group will continue strengthening the criteria of food safety, dealing with challenges in food security, promoting sustainable application of biofuels in cultivation and hi-tech agriculture to mitigate climate change impacts, and accelerating technology transfer to develop a food value chain in the region.

Tran Kim Long, Director of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), stated that Vietnam acknowledges the importance of high technology application in agricultural production, particularly when the country is becoming more vulnerable to natural disasters, climate change, urbanisation, which pose challenges for the agricultural sector of the nation and the Mekong Delta in particular