PRIME MINISTER MEETS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF FAO

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ At a meeting with the Mongolian Premier S.Batbold, the assistant Director-general of Food and agriculture organization /FAO/ and Resident representative for Asia Pacific region, Hiroyuki Konuma has said that Mongolia's becoming able to provide itself with own flour and potatoes is the "important indicator". This meeting took place on November 7. Then the dignitaries talked about Mongolia-FAO relations and cooperation. The FAO has helped in developing of the agriculture sector, especially during the 2009's zud disaster by granting an aid of 1,3 million US dollars. It has implemented many projects and programmes on fighting transboundary and food-and-mouth diseases, improving vegetables supplement for low income families, putting a quality control system into main point of meat industry, he went on. He thanked Mr. Konuma for sending a letter to the "Food security forum”. Then he suggested setting up here a representative office of FAO. Thanks to the "Reclaiming Virgin lands" third campaign, the Mongolians have now all opportunities to become an exporter of agricultural products, "also we want to be a regional reserve of livestock and wheat products and to cooperate in making Mongolia a model country of the FAO in the Asia Pacific," he said. Then he said that wants to continue receiving the FAO's technical aid in frames of projects “Food safety emergency”, “Mongolia livestock” and “World-wide food safety”, and to host here a conference of Asia Pacific region of FAO in 2014. Mr. Konuma congratulated Mongolia for becoming able to revive the agriculture sector and to export 100 thousand tons of wheat. "Mongolia can plant over 700 thousand hectares with various seeds not only for the domestic needs but also for export," he added and said that a help is ready for this work. Mr. Konuma said the FAO is planning to give technical help of 1,5 million US dollars for implementing the “Livestock-based Livelihood support programme”, which will be realized here at grant aid of 12,5 million US dollars from the “World-wide food safety” programme". B.Oyundelger