Meeting Summary Report

Transcription

1 Meeting Summary Report ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION POLICY PARTNERSHIP ON FOOD SECURITY (PPFS) Crown Regency Resort and Convention Center, Boracay, Aklan, Philippines May 2015 Eighteen (18) APEC economies attended: Australia; Chile; People s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia, New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States; and Viet Nam. Also present were the PPFS Vice-Chair from China (outgoing), PPFS Vice-Chair from Peru (incoming) and PPFS Vice-Chair from ABAC, and the APEC Secretariat. Observers included representative from the Russian Federation; the liaison from the Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG); and, the APEC Philippines Vice Senior Official. The meeting was chaired by the PPFS Chairperson (LS) Atty. Asis Perez of the Philippines. Day 1: 13 May 2015 Session I - Opening Session A. Opening/Welcoming Remarks by the PPFS Chair, Vice-Chairs and PPFS Program Director of APEC Secretariat PPFS 2015 Chairperson 1. The Chairperson introduced himself to the group. He acknowledged the presence of the participating member economies which shows their commitment to food security. He suggested to take into consideration the previous APEC Leader s statements and declarations as well as the agreed thematic areas to serve as guidance for future directions, and encouraged the economies to look at synergies with other working groups to help attain the goal of building inclusive economies in APEC. 2. He expressed willingness to be flexible in conducting the meeting, sought guidance and experience of member economies on how to further develop the agenda, and wished the participants a productive meeting and pleasant stay in Boracay. Page 1 of 15

2 PPFS 2015 Vice-Chairperson (PPFS 2014 Chairperson) 3. The PPFS 2014 Chairperson and current Vice-Chair, Dr. Han Jihzi, cited the accomplishments and activities made by the PPFS in He expressed deep respect and gratitude to the attendees and sincerest thanks to the host economy. He encouraged the economies to increase efforts in implementing the actions identified in the roadmap and work hard for a world free from hunger and malnutrition. PPFS 2015 Vice-Chairperson (ABAC) 4. Mr. Tony Nowell, Vice-Chair ABAC, thanked the Philippines and acknowledged the informal approach of the Chairperson, which is consistent with the venue. He congratulated China for the hard work and commitment shown last year, and welcomed the new Vice-Chairperson from Peru. 5. He emphasized that this meeting should serve as an opportunity for the PPFS to reset strategies with the roadmap as an important guiding document. He emphasized that although the roadmap has been agreed upon, the economies should keep up to changes and needs of the time. He encouraged honest ideas and openness and multilateral cooperation towards food security. He expressed that the private sector s view is to open food trade as the best way towards food security. 6. He encouraged the meeting to look into the PPFS structure, making membership more active in the working groups, emphasizing the importance of intercessional actions. Finally, he called for clarity on the definition of food security, especially in the areas of nutrition, food safety and oceans and fisheries. PPFS 2015 Vice-Chairperson (Peru) 7. The Vice Chairperson from Peru, Ms. Carmen Azurin, look forward to hosting PPFS by September She cited supply and demand of food, facilitating trade on food, sustainable development in communities involved in agriculture and fisheries, address issues on connectivity and food safety. She hoped that PPFS could develop ideas and concept notes towards the attainment of the PPFS agenda. APEC Secretariat PPFS Program Director 8. APEC Secretariat Program Director for PPFS, expressed his appreciation on the role of PPFS in advancing its agenda and initiatives. He reminded the meeting to intensify the work in order to attain the goal of improved food systems and looked forward to fruitful discussion towards the advancement of the agenda. Page 2 of 15

3 B. Introduction of the Delegation Leads 9. The Chairperson asked each economy to introduce their delegation. C. Appointment of Rapporteurs 10. The Chairperson appointed the Philippine Secretariat as rapporteur of the meeting. D. Formation of Committee to assist with the drafting of the Summary Report 11. New Zealand, ABAC, the United States, People s Republic of China, the Philippines, and Japan volunteered to be members of the Committee that will assist in the drafting of the Meeting s Summary Report. E. Adoption of the Agenda 12. Indonesia suggested to add Other Matters in the agenda to which the Chairperson agreed. This was inserted before the adoption of the summary report. With no other addition and comments made, the agenda was adopted subject to the modification suggested by Indonesia. 13. On another note, the Vice-Chair ABAC reminded the PPFS to focus on how to make a difference in achieving food security in collaboration with the other foodrelated fora and platforms in APEC. While projects and initiatives are important, this message of making a difference should be clearly put forward to the APEC leaders. Session II- Presentation of APEC 2015 Priorities 14. Undersecretary Ferdinand Cui, the Philippine SOM Vice-Chair, shared the APEC 2015 theme and priorities with the meeting. He reiterated the APEC 1996 Leaders vision of enriching the lives and improving the standards of living of all citizens on a substantial basis. Usec. Cui pointed out that the APEC 2015 hosting theme Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World is still in line with the APEC 1996 Leaders Vision. Along this line, he explained that inclusive growth involves everyone contributing to the growth process and not just benefiting from it. 15. He likewise put emphasis on the four APEC 2015 priorities, namely: enhancing the regional economic integration (REI) agenda; fostering participation of SMEs Page 3 of 15

4 in the regional and global market; investing in human capital development; and, building sustainable and resilient communities. 16. Usec. Cui highlighted the intent of the host economy to come up with an outcomes-oriented APEC 2015 Leaders Declaration with the end goal of contributing to an improved standard of living of the citizens. He cited the three elements of an ideal outcomes oriented APEC initiative, such as: relevance, measurability, and baseline and milestone. Session III -Progress Report of PPFS 2014 A. Overview of Outcomes of PPFS in the previous year and discussion of progress of implementation of the 2014 PPFS Annual Work Plan 17. Dr. Han Jizhi, PPFS Chairperson 2014, thanked the 2013 PPFS Chairperson for laying the ground works for PPFS. He provided background on the Workplan of PPFS 2014 which focused on the theme of strengthening partnerships between the public and private sector for food security. 18. Dr. Han also reported the PPFS 2014 key areas of cooperation and the lead economies for each, as follows: a. Technology cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and capacity building in food production (Hong Kong, China and Indonesia); b. Technology exchanges and cooperation in food storage, supply chain and food loss reduction (the United States); c. Agricultural and food trade cooperation and facilitation (New Zealand); d. Investment and infrastructure development and cooperation on food security (Russia); and, e. Food standards and safety assurances (China, Australia and New Zealand to lead the work, and in co-operation with the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum). 19. The initiatives and activities undertaken by the PPFS in 2014 include holding PPFS 2014 meetings and related activities; discussions between private and public sector as well as stakeholders consultations on food security related issues, including business and high level dialogues; drafting of business plan, guideline document for improving food security and other important documents; and, further collaboration and engagements with other APEC fora and with other international organizations. 20. Dr. Han shared the following PPFS 2014 outcomes: APEC Food Security Road Map Towards 2020 (version 2014); APEC Food Security Business Plan ( ); APEC Action Plan for Reducing Food Loss and Waste; Action Plan to Enhance Connectivity of APEC Food Standards and Safety Assurance; Beijing Page 4 of 15

5 Declaration on APEC Food Security; Food Safety and Security from Joint Ministerial Statement; and, Food Safety and Security from Beijing Agenda for an Integrated, Innovative and Interconnected Asia-Pacific. B. Overview of intersessionally endorsed actions/documents and Report on Relevant Developments in PPFS 21. The APEC Secretariat informed the meeting that there is nothing to report other than the issues mentioned already by the Vice-Chairperson. In 2014, there were two projects from New Zealand and the United States. In 2015, however, there was no submission of project notes for Session 1. He informed that the submission of proposals for Session 2 has a deadline on 1 July C. Update from the OFWG 22. Ms. Allison Reed, the OFWG PPFS Liaison Officer who also represents the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), informed the meeting on the key results of the Fifth Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG5) Meeting specifically those which are of interest to the PPFS as follows: a. The OFWG endorsed its Food Security Action Plan and agreed to table it at PPFS for the meeting s information. There are priority areas and activities in the Food Security Action Plan that are relevant to the PPFS and could warrant areas for future cooperation. b. The OFWG held discussions on the preparations for the High Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and Blue Economy (HLPD-FSBE), and agreed that there is a need to work with the PPFS to ensure consistency between the Food Security Action Plan, the PPFS Roadmap, and any expected outcomes of the HLPD. c. Related to the overall need to further strengthen institutional collaboration, the OFWG recognized that there might be value in exploring a solution with the PPFS, for example the creation of informal sub fora between OFWG and PPFS. D. PPFS Delegates Group Photo Session 23. The PPFS had its group photo taken at the hotel poolside. Session lv- Directions for PPFS Indonesia reported on the Mainstreaming Ocean Related Initiatives (MOI) Steering Council Meeting in SOM1 and the next progress that will be conducted by the Steering Council for Page 5 of 15

6 A. Explanation of the proposed theme Building Inclusive Growth in the Agriculture and Fisheries Sectors to Ensure Food Security and the topics of the PPFS this year and how they are developed 25. The Chair presented the key elements of APEC 2015 s theme. In his presentation, he highlighted the important role of agriculture and fisheries sectors not only economically but also in achieving food security. He defined the meaning of inclusive growth to not only cover free flow of goods and services but also equitable business opportunities. 26. He called for a shared growth that provides assistance to all players in the value chain with focus on small scale farmers with less ability to compete in the world market. He added that another important factor in ensuring food security is to have motivated and capacitated key players of the sector which would result to expansion of operations and increased production that will ultimately lead to food security. 27. The following areas were raised during the discussion: a. Vice-Chairperson ABAC sad that inclusive growth would be promoted by a functional supply chain that allows small players to connect to the market. b. Vice-Chair from China called on economies to seek common ground to have inclusive and mutually beneficial growth both for land and seabased food sectors. c. Japan supported the proposed theme and its purpose to make agriculture and fisheries more profitable through upgrading food value chain and agricultural innovation, AFFrinovation. He encouraged the group to work towards the implementation of already agreed Action Plans. d. New Zealand expressed their support for an open supply chain with focus on SME participation and suggested that trade liberalization and facilitation supported inclusiveness. e. Thailand urged the meeting to also look into managing food consumption in a sustainable way, since levels of consumption vary per economy. f. The Vice Chair-ABAC raised the importance of food standards and quality assurance in the midst of increasing political and consumer pressure (i.e. issue of non communicable disease, obesity, poor diet) and encouraged PPFS to respond to issues through appropriate policy recommendations. On the issue of small holders inclusion in the supply chain, he emphasized the importance of global data standards where products can be tracked in the supply chain in cases of counterfeiting and substitution. g. The United States supported ABAC and New Zealand, noting the importance of inclusive growth in the aspect of open supply chain, and emphasized that the OFWG Food Security Action Plan should be complementary with the PPFS Roadmap 2020, with both taken into Page 6 of 15

7 account in preparations for the High Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and Blue Economy. B. Ideas on PPFS 2015 Work Plan 28. The Chairperson sought for the participants view on the Work Plan. He explained the need to develop a draft PPFS 2015 Work Plan to serve as basis of actions and initiatives of the PPFS this year. 29. The following areas were raised as inputs to the 2015 Work Plan: environmental risk coming from aquaculture sector; impacts of climate change to production; and, Work Plan should include specific actions for implementation. C. Possible formation of Friends of the Chair to assist the Chair in developing the Annual Work/Action Plan & Strategic Plan 30. Instead of creating a Friends of the Chair (FoTc), the meeting agreed to create a Drafting Committee to come up with the document for consideration of the meeting. 31. Members of the drafting committee includes ABAC, Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Leads and co-chair of the working groups, Vice Chair - China, ABAC and Peru, and APEC Secretariat. Representatives from the private sector were also welcomed to be part of the Drafting Committee. 32. Taking into account the establishment of the new Drafting Committee, Japan suggested to consider scraping Working Group 1, since the Food Security Roadmap 2020 has been completed, and for streamlining the organization, to which Vice Chair from ABAC agreed. Session V -Information Sharing by APEC Economies 33. APEC member economies gave brief updates on their respective in-country initiatives and APEC related project as follows: a. Australia: In response to challenges in food security, Australia developed a program to improve productivity along the value chain, promote sustainable use of resources, and achieve policy in open trade. b. Chile: Active policy framework towards food security, with focus on enhancing trade and markets pillar (open trade and preferential trade agreements, attention to small holders through improved production chain and short market circuits, transparent and fair regulatory transactions). c. People s Republic of China: There are two PPFS-related activities under planning: (1) High-level Conference on Loss-Reduction Technology and Page 7 of 15

8 Experience for Food Security; and, (2) Enhancing Connectivity of APEC Food Standards and Safety Assurance. d. Hongkong, China China: Global data standards used in international supply chains that enhance transparency, domestic distribution of highly regulated goods, and SMEs direct link to international markets. e. Indonesia: Study on benefits to SMEs of facilitating investments on food security. f. Japan: Establishing food value chains and providing an enabling environment for AFFrinovation: Agrinnovation, Forestrinnovation, and Fisherinnovation contribute to increase producer s income and jobs in rural area toward the enhancement of food supply capacity. g. Republic of Korea: Building infrastructure and initiatives to overcome challenges in agriculture (ageing farm worker population), new value adding industry by combining agriculture, processing and tourism sectors to improve livelihood and incomes in rural communities. h. New Zealand: Supportive of trade and markets programme and the pubprivate format, work programmes include rural development, reducing food loss in the supply chain, global data standards and enhancing participation in global value chains as well as food safety capabilities with the other economies. i. Papua New Guinea: Crafting their food security policy and national nutrition policy. j. Philippines: Policy measures with strong private sector participation to overcome challenges on sustainable food security, growth in productivity and competitiveness, and resiliency and adaptation to climate change impacts. Developing countries, while not responsible for climate change are the most vulnerable to climate change. The Philippines also announced the recently enacted food safety law and its implementing rules and regulations. k. Singapore: Supports open food trade and initiatives on food supply chains, fisheries and aquaculture, and food loss and waste reduction. l. Chinese Taipei: Policies and priority actions on attracting young generation farmers and providing aged farmers life care. m. The United States: Encouraged climate smart agriculture; concrete actions against IUU fishing, updated the meeting on a baseline study on post harvest loss (fisheries, grains), and announced an APEC funded project planned for September 2015 on Food Safety and Aquaculture. n. Viet Nam: Achievements in food security and poverty reduction; embarking on the agriculture sector restructuring program and new rural development program; some key issues to ensure food security in upcoming time in areas of production, consumption and tasks of government. o. Peru: There is concern about non-tariff barriers to food trade. Its new National Strategy for Food and Nutritional Security has a Page 8 of 15

9 multi-sectoral approach to the challenges of food security and investment in health (chronic malnutrition, household with caloric deficits). Session VI Presentation on the following thematic areas agreed upon in previous PPFS Meetings 34. The Chairperson welcomed information and ideas from economies with respect to priority areas identified on the roadmap. A. Food Technology cooperation, knowledge sharing and capacity building 35. ABAC inquired on the actual status and current trends in genetic modification in member economies. The following points were raised on the topic: a. Peru informed that there is a moratorium on import and production of GMOs. b. Thailand informed that they do not produce GMOs but they import such and asked if APEC is ready to make a stand on the issue. c. The Philippines has a robust regulatory system on GMOs and there have been no reported incidences of violations for the past 12 years. Issues concerning low level presence are addressed through the adoption of Codex guidelines. Biotech programs more prominently on eggplant and rice are ongoing. The Philippines proposed that APEC should tackle the issue in a more collaborative way. d. Singapore (Mr. Mathew Tan) clarified the difference between genetic selection and genetic modification, and raised a question on what APEC position will be if and when food supply becomes scarce. e. Chinese Taipei currently does not allow production of GM foods, but suggested that this GMO issue can be discussed in APEC forum. f. Indonesia, posted a question on who will be held responsible for possible adverse effects of GMOs in the future. B. Cooperation and food storage, food supply chains and cold chains 36. Japan reported on their initiatives on the establishment of food value chain, AFFrinovation policy and high level public-private forum on cold chain to strengthen agriculture. 37. ABAC acknowledged Japan s initiative and encourage collaboration with private sector in all economies. Chinese Taipei appreciated the presentation, and request if they can share Japan s best practices to member economies to promote more public and private partnership, Page 9 of 15

10 C. Food loss and waste reduction 38. A representative from the US-APEC ATAARI presented findings of their study entitled APEC Fisheries Post-Harvest Losses Study which focused on post harvest loss in the fisheries sector. The study aimed to obtain best available post harvest loss estimates for APEC economies and identify critical loss points. 39. Chinese Taipei presented the overview, progress and future plans of the project entitled Strengthening Public-Private Partnership to Reduce Food Losses in the Supply Chain in the Asia-Pacific Region. ABAC suggested to consider including estimates on nutrition loss which maybe more useful for policy and decision makers. Chinese Taipei responded that estimation results showing nutrition content may be reported in the next meeting, and that they will provide a more comprehensive report later this year. D. Food trade cooperation and facilitation 40. New Zealand urged economies to ratify UNFTA and emphasized that trade facilitation and liberalization, should be at the heart of food security agenda. 41. Chile called for a persistent action towards certainty to trade of agri food products by harmonization of regulatory requirements and fast tracking of documentary processes. 42. Hongkong, China emphasized the role of global data standards to save cost and time in international supply chains for efficiency and cost reduction. E. Facilitation on investment and infrastructure 43. Indonesia shared their efforts on streamlining licensing procedures for transparency especially in infrastructure to support food security and seek reciprocity from other economies. F. Food standards and quality/safety assurances 44. China presented the background, goals, expected output, workplan and necessary conditions for the implementation of the project on Enhancing Connectivity of APEC Food Standards and Safety Assurance. 45. On the inquiry whether APEC projects needs endorsement from the PPFS, APEC Secretariat responded that both APEC and non-apec funded projects need PPFS endorsement prior to implementation. 46. ABAC suggested limiting the projects on food safety policy to avoid duplication with what is being done in the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum which was Page 10 of 15

11 concurred by Japan who further clarified if the activity is a continuation of last year s Work Plan. The Vice Chair from China confirmed that the project is a continuation of the 2014 Work Plan which shall look into the connection between food standards and safety among member economies. 47. Thailand clarified on whether the project is referring to standards on trade or quality, considering that there is an existing practice for trade provided by Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA). 48. Basically, the PPFS agreed in principle on the proposed project with no objection from the member economies. G. Exchanges and coordination on food policies and regulations 49. ABAC raised that harmonization of food safety standards between and among economies is important. The Philippines suggested that while harmonization is long term objective, a more practical approach is equivalence to be able to identify gaps and differences. He added that while standards/regulations should be science-based, however, it is expected that in-country legislations may have some limitations. 50. The Chairperson provided guidelines for the succeeding day s session. The members of each Working Group will have to meet and come up with suggestion on what should be the content of 2015 PPFS Action Plan. Since the membership listing was as of 2013 yet, the economies will be given a chance to signify whether they would like to continue being members of their current WG or they would opt to transfer to other WGs. 51. The Vice-Chair ABAC gave background of the membership (public, private) starting with the Jakarta meeting in He cited that the list has to be cleaned up since many of those in the list have not been seen after There is also a concern on the level of representation such that some of those in the list are actually company CEOs and will not have time to attend meetings. He enjoined each economy to take this seriously by officially identifying the members, five active members from which the WGs members may be drawn from. He also mentioned that the TOR allow for subject matter experts to be invited in meetings as the need arises. Day 2: 14 May 2015 Session VII-PPFS Working Groups (WGs) meeting (breakout session) to come up with the PPFS 2015 Action and Strategic Plans Page 11 of 15

12 52. The Chair discussed the mechanism and points of discussion for the breakout session. ABAC suggested reviewing previous matrices and deciding on what items are still relevant, may be removed, and items that may have to be added. He emphasized that the working groups should focus on policy issues for the consideration of the leaders. 53. The APEC Secretariat enumerated the names of the working group chairs, then the workshop session commenced. 54. After the break-out sessions, each WG reported the highlights of their respective discussions as follows: Working Group 1: Stock-take and Food Security Roadmap Towards On behalf of the WG, the United States reported the agreements made by WG1 started with the change of Co-Chairmanship to Mr. Joseph dela Cruz, Administrator of National Food Authority, from Assistant Secretary Orlan Calayag. 56. The following were the discussions of the WG: a. On promoting policy communications on food security, they agreed to strengthen policies on advocacy to the consumers (e.g., information campaign). b. On the issue on the lack of continuity on past agreements, the WG recommended to harmonize existing policies on stock-taking and food security in each economy as well as cross-match and identify policy issues. c. On the concern on the lack of assessment/updating/monitoring of implemented projects, the WG to come up with a monitoring template that will indicate what, where, when and how is it happening. The APEC Secretariat will have to assist on this endeavour. The to be drafted template will be then circulated to member economies for comments by October The WG shared a common aspiration of making things happen this time. 58. New Zealand suggested that WG1 develop indicators or scorecards for monitoring progress and status of the PPFS initiatives and activities towards attaining the Food Security Roadmap for Working Group 2: Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fishery Sectors Page 12 of 15

13 59. On the WG s composition, the two Chairpersons are Indonesia (Harry Hanawi with Tjuk Eko Haribasuki as alternate) and Singapore (Mathew Tan). The names of the members will have to be revised and submitted within one week after this meeting. 60. The WG agreed to focus on three policy issues, namely: (1) promoting research, development and technology dissemination; (2) strengthening small holders organization, cooperation and resilience (such as negative impacts of climate change), promoting welfare of women, empowering small holders into the food supply and value chain, and enhancing services and training for small holders; and, (3) Promoting sustainable management of natural resources. 61. In relation to the scope of WG2, Singapore shared to the PPFS a proposed project entitled Food Security Global Action Plan (FS-GAP) which covers infrastructure and manpower, technology and training, processing and trading, and funding. 62. After the report was presented in plenary, Ms. Reed, the OFWG Liaison Officer to the PPFS, requested permission if she can share the relevant results and output of PPFS WG2 to the OFWG. With no objection from the PPFS, the Chairperson gave Ms Reed the permission to proceed in sharing the subject information to the OFWG. Working Group 3: Facilitation of Investment and Infrastructure Development 63. The WG has agreed on this policy statement: to facilitate investment and associated infrastructure development to support the development of adequate food supply chains and cold chains, APEC economies should take specific policy actions to reduce and share risk. Along this line, the following will be taken into consideration: a. Collection and sharing of information that matches production and markets; b. Making accessible and transparent regulations and requirements associated with making investments; and, c. Risk reduction through PPP that distribute the financial the financial risks and benefits associated to investments in food security. 64. After the report was presented in plenary, the United States expressed on the possibility of having this policy statement considered in the Leaders Declaration. Working Group 4: Enhancing Trade and Markets Page 13 of 15

14 65. The WG agreed on two goals. The first goal is on promoting open and transparent markets for fair trade in fisheries and agriculture products. Under this goal, the following will have to be looked into: non-tariff barriers; global data standards; transparency/ harmonization equivalence/predictability; capacity building and trade adjustments; and, regional agreements including that of WTO and TFA, among others. The second goal is on reducing post harvest loss and food waste. Both Chinese Taipei and Japan shared that they have ongoing projects while the United States and China have new projects along this line. Finally, the WG agreed on the need to have a clear definition, need to collect data and develop relevant indicators. 66. After the plenary report, New Zealand inquired on the use of a standard format for the WG reports for uniformity and easy consolidation of outputs. The Chairperson responded that this matter will be tackled at the PPFS Management Council Meeting in the following day. 67. The Chairperson and the APEC Secretariat committed that updates of these Working Groups outputs will be circulated to the member economies. Session IX Projects A. Discussion on 2015 Ranking Criteria and Project Funding 68. The APEC Secretariat presented updates related to APEC Project Management. His presentation covered the following areas: project overview including overarching aims of why APEC funds projects; application eligibility; application and approval process including funding prioritization criteria; sources of project funding including self-funding; overview of projects funded in 2014; schedule for project submission for 2015 and informed that member economies may apply for Session 2 with 1 July 2015 as the deadline. Usually, projects that are accorded with priority ranked 1 are funded and food security is ranked number 1 for the Philippines year. Session X High Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and Blue Economy A. Update on the preparation of the HLPD-FSBE in Iloilo City from 4-5 October The Philippines presented updates on the substantive part for the subject event. The presentation started with the relevant Leaders and Ministers statements as well as other relevant declarations that provide impetus to the holding of the proposed HLPD-FSBE. The three priorities for the HLPD were enumerated (IUU fishing, biodiversity loss, blue economy) along with the respective suggested Page 14 of 15

15 strategies in each priority area. Matters for intercessional discussion as well as timelines were likewise mentioned. The draft Plan of Action, which will serve as one of the main outputs of the HLPD-FSBE, will be circulated to the PPFS later on for inputs. 70. The PPFS was likewise updated on the administrative and logistical preparations for the HLPD-FSBE. 71. The Chairperson announced that the next PPFS meeting is scheduled on 2-3 October 2015 in Iloilo City. This is alongside the HLPD which be held on 4 October On behalf of the OFWG, Ms. Allison Reed reiterated the possible areas of cooperation and collaboration between PPFS and OFWG in relation to the HLPD and in pursuit for the attainment of food security in the Asia-Pacific region in general. Session XI - Adoption of Summary Report 73. The PPFS and the PPFS Management Committee approved and adopted the Summary Report of the Meeting. Session XII- Closing Session 74. The APEC Secretariat thanked the Chairperson for effectively facilitating the meeting and the warm hospitality extended to the participating member economies. 75. The United States likewise joined in congratulating the Chairperson for a job well done. 76. Finally, the Chairperson thanked the PPFS member economies for their active participation in ensuring that the agenda of the meeting is achieved. The Chairperson looks forward to a continued cooperation and collaboration among member economies in achieving food security towards inclusive growth. He likewise thanked the APEC Secretariat for the support. Page 15 of 15