DANANG, Vietnam: Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman has called on countries in the region to do more to reduce unsustainable agricultural practices.
Speaking at the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Dr Maliki said the nations “must continue to encourage progress in the region to reduce unsustainable practices which are detrimental to both the environment and producers”.
He also urged leaders to be “sensitised” to the impact of regional conflicts on food production and trade, and to “consider ways to alleviate these”.
Singapore’s polytechnics can also play a role to ensure food security; by working with government agencies and industries to develop new courses, Dr Maliki said.
This will attract “the younger generation” to traditional sectors such as agriculture and aquaculture, and cultivate “agri-technologists” with multi-disciplinary expertise in areas such as engineering and R&D, he added.
Dr Maliki also spoke of Singapore’s human resources development efforts to provide all-rounded education through a greater investment in pre-school education, as well as the promotion of the SkillsFuture scheme to prepare the workforce for the future economy.
On the sidelines of the AMM, Dr Maliki met with Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Rimbink Pato and Peru’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Luna Mendoza.
Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman meeting Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Rimbink Pato at the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting (AMM). (Photo: Facebook/Maliki Osman)
The leaders reaffirmed the bilateral ties that Singapore has with both Papua New Guinea and Peru, as well as discussed ways to deepen those ties.
