Minister Creed Holds Bilateral Meetings on the Second Day of Trade Mission to Indonesia

30 October 2018


Topics covered include trade, market access and technical cooperation
Trade and Market Access feature on Day two of Minister Creed’s Mission to Indonesia

On the second day of the trade mission to Indonesia, Minister Michael Creed had meetings with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Syukur Iwantoro and with Stephen Rugard, the country representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Referring to his engagement with the Ministry for Agriculture, Minister Creed said :

“The Secretary General and I had an extremely  useful discussion on market access issues for meat, as well as prospects for increased Irish dairy exports to Indonesia, which is less than 40% self-sufficient in dairy products This was a real opportunity to highlight the strong synergies between Ireland’s production capability and Indonesia’s import requirements.  I am confident that this kind of engagement can help build the profile of Ireland internationally as a producer of quality food. ”.

Minister Creed also expressed, on behalf of the Government, Ireland’s solidarity with the Indonesian people following the recent earthquake in Central Sulawesi and the tragic plane crash in Jakarta.

Following the FAO meeting, Minister Creed said;

“My Department has a long commitment to supporting the FAO.  I wanted to hear at first hand the story of the really important work it is doing on the ground in Indonesia in relation to animal health and sustainable farming systems.”

Reflecting on the potential synergies between Indonesia’s food security objectives and Ireland’s food production policy, David Butler, Director of Sustainable Food Systems Ireland said;

Ireland’s emphasis is on sustainable development, particularly in livestock, and this matches what Indonesia is trying to achieve. We see a lot of opportunity to collaborate with Government and with partners in FAO”.

The evening concluded with a networking reception hosted by the Irish Ambassador to Indonesia, Olivia Leslie, to facilitate engagement between the visiting Irish trade delegation and the Indonesian business community.

Note for editors:

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is one of the largest specialised agencies of the UN and the main agency for agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development.  DAFM leads on the Irish Government’s relationship with FAO and ensures that Ireland’s position on agricultural and development matters was well represented. 

Sustainable Food Systems Ireland (SFSI) is the international consultancy group of a consortium of five Irish Government organisations, led by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.  SFSI offers technical assistance in all aspects of agri-food development and regulation.

ENDS

Original Press Release, click here