Asean agrees action plan for farm, industrial sectors
Asean member countries have agreed on an action plan for the 2007-2011 period to modernise the agriculture sector and improve industrial production as the region moves towards a knowledge-based economy, the Vietnam News Agency reported yesterday from Kuala Lumpur.
The agreement was reached at the end of the 4th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology in Malaysia on Tuesday. The regional grouping's 10 member countries have also agreed to help each other narrow the disparity and development gap amongst them, Vietnam News Agency reported. Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysia's science, technology and innovation minister, said the final draft of the Asean action plan on science and technology focused on environmental and disaster management, new and renewable energy, open-source software, as well as food safety and security, the agency said. He said all Asean member countries had agreed to contribute US$1 million (Bt37.5 million) each to the Asean Science Fund for the next 10 years. He said Asean would also invite its dialogue partners - Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea - to contribute to the fund, according to Vietnam News Agency.
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