RI supports initiatives for acceleration of reform process

The Indonesian government has reiterated the need to accelerate reform at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to improve its capacity to carry out its primary task of eliminating hunger and poverty through broad agricultural development.

Dwisuryo Indroyono Soesilo, secretary Coordinating Public Welfare Minister's Office, who led the Indonesian delegation to the recent FAO Council meeting in Rome, said Monday Indonesia fully supports the reform process.

The Indonesian delegation also included senior officials from the Agriculture and Foreign Ministries.

An FAO member since 1949, Indonesia sees the organization's comprehensive reform process as crucial for improving its orga-nizational and institutional capa-city in helping its 193 member countries to achieve food security, Soesilo said.

"As a vast archipelagic country, Indonesia highly appreciates the FAO initiative to include marine resources into its strategic objectives, particularly those related to sustainable management and use of fisheries and aquaculture resources," Soesilo added.

The inclusion of marine, especially fisheries, resources into the FAO food security strategy, would contribute greatly to the protein supply for the world population, he noted.

Soesilo said Indonesia, which succeeded in achieving rice self-sufficiency in 1985 and again over the past two years, has been sharing its experiences and knowledge with countries in Asia, Africa and the Pacific through technical assistance under the South-South cooperation scheme.

"This is our commitment to the global efforts under FAO to achieve food security," Soesilo pointed out. Indonesia, he added, also sees it more imperative for FAO to make the best use of its experiences and vast networks for helping its member countries in overcoming poverty.

"For this purpose, the FAO leadership in Rome should possess strong managerial and financial proficiency in mobilizing resources from its more advanced member countries," Soesilo said.