ASEAN Foreign Ministers To Discuss Regional Security, Efforts To Improve Food Security - FM Mohamad

SEREMBAN, July 19 (Bernama) -- Regional security issues, the conflict in West Asia and efforts to strengthen ASEAN food security will be among the key agendas at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila, the Philippines, which begins Monday, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said.

Ministers will also discuss tensions in the South China Sea, the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, as well as the ongoing killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, which has now also spread to southern Lebanon, he added.

"There are all sorts of problems on which ASEAN needs to take a position so that the turmoil in the world today can be brought to an end. Although the wars may be far away, their impact on Malaysia is significant. We also want to discuss how to achieve ASEAN food security.

"ASEAN's rice security is important because people in ASEAN eat rice. So, we want an ASEAN food security policy, especially for rice supplies - identifying which countries can produce rice and which can produce other food products," he told reporters here Sunday.

Mohamad said each member state has its own strengths in food production, and these advantages should be harnessed collectively to ensure the security of the region's food supply.

He added that the development of the ASEAN Power Grid would also be an important agenda item at the meeting, including efforts to expand electricity supply-sharing from producer countries such as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to other countries, including Malaysia.

He said such cooperation was important to leverage the strengths of each member state while strengthening ASEAN's economic resilience and energy security.

Mohamad is scheduled to attend the three-day meeting in Manila, which will run until Wednesday.

-- BERNAMA