India Holds Agricultural Talks with Malaysia, Timor-Leste & Myanmar

New Delhi, Sep 10 (KNN) Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister  Shivraj Singh Chouhan held separate bilateral meetings with agriculture ministers from Malaysia, Timor-Leste and Myanmar on the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN–India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry.

The meetings with Mohamed Bin Sabu, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Malaysia; Marcos Da Cruz, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry, Timor-Leste; and Min Naung, Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Myanmar were held in New Delhi on September 9.

During the meeting with Malaysia, both sides discussed sharing knowledge, expertise and best practices, along with cooperation in agricultural research, technology and innovation. 

The ministers expressed interest in an MoU to provide an institutional framework for cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors. They also discussed germplasm exchange, trade and market access.

Timor-Leste expressed interest in developing a stronger institutional mechanism with India to address agricultural challenges and food security. 

Chouhan reiterated India’s commitment to sharing best practices through exchange of scientists and experts and human resource development. 

Timor-Leste also proposed deputing Indian technical and scientific experts to assess challenges in agriculture, forestry, livestock and aquaculture.

During the meeting with Myanmar, Chouhan noted the longstanding cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries. Both sides discussed an MoU on cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors, which is at an advanced stage of finalisation.

India and Myanmar also discussed trade opportunities in pulses, cotton, dairy development and agriculture education. Myanmar highlighted investment opportunities to strengthen economic and agricultural ties.

The 9th ASEAN–India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry was organised by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in New Delhi during September 8-9. 

(KNN Bureau)