Thai and Russian agricultural officials agreed to draft bilateral food-safety standards and committed to joint research at a meeting in Pattaya.
Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Theera Wongsamut led the Thai delegation to the April 25 session at the Dusit Thani Hotel, with the Russians represented by Deputy Agriculture Minister Llya V. Shestakov.
Thai and Russian agricultural officials met at the Dusit Thani Pattaya where they agreed to draft bilateral food-safety standards and committed to joint research.
The meeting was the first since the two nations signed their latest agricultural cooperation agreement last year and primarily served to set the scope for the first joint projects. Committee members considered reports and suggestions related to regulations for joint agricultural cooperatives.
The major achievement at the session, however, was an agreement to jointly work on food safety, including sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The two sides also agreed to promote joint scientific and agricultural research.
As part of the food-safety initiative, Thailand’s Department of Fisheries and Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance will cooperate to control quality and safety of imported and exported plants and plant products. Contacts for each side will be named and help provide information on regulations.
As for research, Thailand presented 14 projects, including studies on coastal agriculture, water resources management, irrigation technology, pest control and soil microorganisms.
