New Delhi | India held separate bilateral talks with Malaysia, Timor-Leste and Myanmar to expand agricultural cooperation, according to an official statement.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met his counterparts from the three countries here on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AIMMAF) event.
AIMMAF was organised by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
In his meeting with Malaysia's Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamed Bin Sabu, Chouhan discussed strengthening cooperation in joint agricultural research, technology and innovation through a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the statement said on Wednesday.
Both ministers noted that bilateral issues relating to germplasm exchange, trade and market access could be addressed through cooperation, it said.
During talks with Timor-Leste's Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry, Marcos Da Cruz, the visiting minister sought a stronger institutional mechanism with India to address agricultural challenges and ensure food security, the statement said.
Chouhan reiterated India's commitment to share its best practices to support Timor-Leste through the exchange of scientists and experts and human resource development, it said.
Da Cruz also sought a team of Indian technical and scientific experts to assess ground-level challenges in agriculture, forestry, livestock and aquaculture.
In his meeting with Myanmar's Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Min Naung, Chouhan noted that the two countries share close cultural and people-to-people ties besides a border of about 1,600 km, the statement said.
Both sides said an MoU between the two countries to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors was at an advanced stage of finalisation, adding that they also discussed the potential to enhance trade in pulses, cotton, dairy and agriculture education.
The Myanmar side suggested favourable investment opportunities to strengthen economic and agricultural ties, the statement said.
DARE Secretary and ICAR Director General M L Jat, Additional Secretary (DARE) and ICAR DG Gyanendra Dev Tripathi, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) A K Sahu, all ICAR Deputy Director Generals and the International Relations team led by Naveen P Singh were present during the meetings.