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Taiwan Actively Participates in African-Asian Rural Development Organization and was Selected as an Executive Committee Member

2015-04-10

  According to the Council of Agriculture (COA), Deputy Minister James Sha led the delegation comprised of members from the COA and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the 18th African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) Conference in Mauritius from April 6 to 9. After a decade, Taiwan is again elected as an Executive Committee member. In the following three years, Taiwan will continue to cooperate closely with the organization and its member nations as well as enhance the agricultural exchange. 

  The COA stated that, established in 1962, the AARDO is today run by 29 member nations and holds the AARDO Conference every three years. In this year's meeting, the effectiveness of its work programs was reviewed, and the work programs for the next three years were also discussed. Furthermore, the conference had established the "Cooperation for Sustainable Development" as the policy of the Organization hoping its members can work towards obtaining sustainable development for their agriculture and rural areas.

  The COA further explained that since it joined the organization in 1968, the Republic of China has actively participated in all activities held by AARDO. Offering professional training and technical assistance to its members, Taiwan has established cooperative relationships with other member nations. The Republic of China had been elected Vice-President once and Executive Committee member 7 times. In the future, in addition to taking part in various AARDO activities, Taiwan will continue to train agricultural technicians and send experts to offer specialized agricultural policy and technology to the member countries. In the mean time, high ranking officials and experts of the member nations will be invited to visit Taiwan for further improvement of their agricultural development.

  The COA stated that the AARDO Conference this year took place at Port Louis in Mauritius, which is regarded as the most crucial fishing base for Taiwan in the Indian Ocean. In 2014, a total of 98 ships from Taiwan conducted fishery cooperation with Mauritius, 509 tuna vessels went in and out of the port, and 73,000 metric tons of catch was handled at the port. Therefore, the delegation also sought to enhance fishery exchange with Mauritius, aiming to strengthen bilateral fisheries cooperation and partnership.