Thailand
GMS ministers to meet in Siem Reap
The second Greater Mekong Subregion Agriculture Ministers Meeting will be held in Siem Reap province early next month, with agro-food products, exploring new markets for agricultural products and solving issues in the sector expected to be high on the agenda.
The meeting of agriculture ministers will be held from September 6 to 8 in Siem Reap province, home to the famed Angkor Wat, and one of the topics up for discussion will be agro-tourism.
Agriculture ministers from the six GMS countries – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – will attend the event and discuss the most important issues in agricultural sectors of the sub-region, said Hean Vanhan, director-general of the Agriculture Ministry’s general directorate of agriculture.
As well as the main meeting, dialogue will be held between bilateral parties, Mr Vanhan said.
“The main topics in the meeting will focus on increasing productivity in the agriculture sectors of the sub-region countries and also potential markets for agricultural products,” he said.
He added that it is important for Cambodia’s agricultural production to increase, but at the moment there are limited markets to export to.
“China, which is a member of the GMS, is one of the biggest markets, and while our agricultural production is increasing, we can explore new markets and hopefully find new partners in the meeting,” Mr Vanhan said.
“Through this event, Cambodia’s agricultural products will be boosted to find new markets in the sub-region countries.”
As well as a training workshop and dialogue with relevant parties and international institutes, agro-food products and agro-tourism products will be displayed at the event.
Siem Reap was chosen to host the meeting because Cambodia wants to link agricultural development with the tourism sector, Mr Vanhan said.
The first meeting of the GMS agriculture ministers was held in April in Beijing this year.
Source: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5077636/gms-ministers-meet-siem-reap/