Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung (middle) on Aug. 11 holds a joint news conference with Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinziro Koizumi (left) and Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun on the results of their trilateral summit at Hotel Paradise in Incheon. (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)

By Yoo Yeon Gyeong

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung on Aug. 11 agreed with her counterparts from Japan and China to set up a system for trilateral cooperation in food security.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs that day said it hosted the fourth meeting of agricultural ministers with Japan and China in Incheon and adopted a joint declaration on the results. This was the first such talks of their kind in seven years since their suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Song attended the talks along with Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinziro Koizumi and Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun.

They discussed six key agenda items: food security, response to animal diseases, sustainable agriculture, stimulation of rural areas, cooperation in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) and global cooperation.

The three ministers pledged to expand mutually beneficial cooperation focusing on key policies of each of the three countries such as development in smart agricultural technology, transformation into carbon-neutral agriculture and training of young farmers.

To accomplish these goals, they agreed on concrete steps such as expanding exchanges of young farmers; holding regular meetings of a senior veterinary officers' committee; sharing experiences among countries based on GIAHS; and developing climate-smart agricultural know-how; and hosting policy seminars.

dusrud21@korea.kr