[Title] ASEAN PLUS THREE LEADERS' STATEMENT ON FOOD SECURITY COOPERATION

We, the Heads of State/Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, on the occasion of the Commemorative Summit to Mark the 20th Anniversary of ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation held in Manila, Philippines on 14 November 2017;

Recalling our commitments under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to end poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030;

Reaffirming our commitment to work together to ensure food security, food safety, better nutrition and equitable distribution, as well as to promote sustainable development in the region;

Reiterating our support to ASEAN efforts to realising an ASEAN Community that is people-oriented, people-centered and socially responsible with a view to achieving enduring solidarity and unity among the peoples and Member States of ASEAN, and forging a common identity and building a caring and sharing society which is inclusive and where the well-being, livelihood, and welfare of the peoples are enhanced;

Noting the ever-increasing demand for food due to the rapid increase in global population, which has not been met by the limited growth in global grain production, and the need to safeguard regional food security with concrete and effective measures and cooperation;

Emphasising our strong determination to enhance cooperation in food security by encouraging countries in the region to take effective measures;

Recognising the importance of international partnerships with relevant UN and regional bodies to strengthen the implementation of food security policies and initiatives;

We hereby decided to undertake the following:

1. Strengthen efforts to effectively implement commitments under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development towards ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture;

2. Enhance engagement through the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (AMAF+3) and Senior Officials Meeting of ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (SOM-AMAF+3) as the cooperation mechanisms in agriculture and food security area for ASEAN Member States and Plus Three countries;

3. Encourage regular policy dialogues among ASEAN Member States and Plus Three countries to exchange views on policies, share experiences and best practices, enhance cooperation and safeguard food security in the region;

4. Support the effective implementation of the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework and the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security in the ASEAN Region (SPA-FS), 2015-2020 and collaborate with relevant ASEAN bodies in implementing the ASEAN Food Safety Policy (AFSP);

5. Support countries in the region to actively and effectively coordinate their policies and actions and implement the plans to improve the comprehensive grain production capacity, including through the use of green technologies, research and development and resource management systems, so as to cope with uncertain challenges to food security in the region and the world at large, including addressing the impact of climate change and fundamentally improve national and regional food security situation;

6. Increase private sector participation in policy discussions, programmes and project formulation, research and development and provide incentives and foster an enabling environment for public-private-partnerships towards enhancing productivity and quality;

7. Encourage countries in the region to further improve the agricultural investment environment by learning from each other, enhance the public-private- partnerships for agricultural investment and infrastructure development, so as to encourage the private sector to invest in the agricultural sector, domestically and regionally and to promote food security in the region;

8. Call on countries in the region to encourage, through enhancing publicity work, food conservation and food waste reduction as well as strengthening of management and cooperation in grain harvest, drying, transportation, warehousing and processing to ease the pressure on food security;

9. Strengthen the coordination of positions among ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries on climate change, cross-border quarantine and surveillance of terrestrial and aquatic animal disease and plants pest, and joint prevention and control;

10. Strengthen the implementation of the APT Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Agreement, including the effective utilisation of APTERR's Tier 1, 2 and 3 Programmes and simplify the rules and procedures to expedite access to Tier 3 Programme during calamities, to improve the effectiveness of APTERR;

11. Continue convening the APT Food Security Cooperation Strategic Roundtable Conference to strengthen food security information exchange, explore the possible establishment of a food security information sharing system among APT countries, and encourage APT countries to carry out cooperation in research and development and innovation in the area of food security;

12. Promote the exchange of information on major food commodities through available information-sharing platforms such as Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations Statistical Databases (FAOSTAT) and the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) in order to improve the monitoring and forecasting related to the supply and demand of major food commodities within the region;

13. Enhance competitiveness and opportunities for farmers, small scale producers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and those engaged in agribusiness to learn and develop more efficient farming practices and management skills, provide skill training for small farmers, promote the access to finance and the use of appropriate technologies that can improve sustainability, improve their production and living conditions, encourage youth participation in the agricultural sector in order to mitigate the problem of the lack of manpower involved in this sector, promote the establishment of agricultural cooperatives, and enhance their status and role in the higher value markets and modern food value chain;

14. Encourage private and public sectors to participate in agricultural services, foster the development of a wide range of services and a service network covering the needs before, during and after production, to provide support for safeguarding national food security; and

15. Undertake activities under the APT Bioenergy and Food Security Framework 2015 – 2025 to assist ASEAN Member States in ensuring sustainable, food-secure and climate-friendly bioenergy.