The first Working Meeting for GTI Agriculture Committee, co-organized by the GTI Secretariat and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Mongolia, was held 5-6 July 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The objective of the meeting was the initiation of the GTI Regional Agricultural Strategic Action Plan (SAP) by setting up the joint Vision, Goals and Objectives based on the member states’ national strategies as well as the findings and suggestions of the Regional Report on Agricultural Cooperation in the Greater Tumen Region commissioned by GTI. Participants from the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Mongolia, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea and Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation took part in the meeting. In order to support regional cooperation the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) facilitated the discussion on the Strategic Action Plan for the newly established GTI Agriculture Committee, through the regional Programme “Support for Economic Cooperation in Sub-Regional Initiatives in Asia (SCSI) 

 

 

The Meeting was opened with welcoming remarks by Mr. N. Ariunbold, State Secretary of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture Mongolia, and Mr. B. Tuguldur, the National Coordinator of GTI from the Mongolian Ministry of Finance. 

 

 

During the Meeting, representatives of the all Ministries shared the key national policies towards regional cooperation, with special focus on GTI. Furthermore the key findings of the GTI regional report on “Agricultural Cooperation in the Greater Tumen Region” were shared with all participants.

 

 

The key elements of the GTI Agriculture Cooperation Strategic Action Plan, such as overall vision, scope, goals and objectives were identified by the participants through active discussion, consultation and consensus building among all members. Moreover, the participants shared their ideas on how to fund future activities and potential stakeholders for the implementation of the SAP.

 

 

The participants agreed to finalize the GTI Agriculture Cooperation Strategic Action Plan by beginning of November 2016.

 

 

The meeting was rounded off with a field visit to Erdene soum of Tuv province, where the participants could gain insight into traditional livestock farming and rural lifestyle of Mongolia.