SEAFDEC Convenes 46PCM back-to-back with 26FCG/ASSP

The Forty-sixth Meeting of the SEAFDEC Program Committee (46PCM) took place in Bali, Indonesia from 20 to 22 November 2023, hosted by the SEAFDEC Inland Fishery Resources Development and Management Department (IFRDMD) in cooperation with the SEAFDEC Secretariat. The 46PCM was participated by the Program Committee Members for Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam with their delegations. Distinguished attendees included the SEAFDEC Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, Department Chiefs as ex-officio members of the SEAFDEC Program Committee together with officers from the SEAFDEC Secretariat and Departments, as well as representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (FAO/RAP) and United States Agency for International Development/Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA).

The 46PCM reviewed the progress and achievements of the projects implemented in 2023 and endorsed the proposed program of activities for 2024 to ensure that the activities address the requirements of the SEAFDEC Member Countries. The 46PCM provided insights and suggestions on 22 ongoing projects under the Fisheries Consultative Group of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Strategic Partnership (FCG/ASSP) Mechanism, nine Departmental Programs, one Other Program, and one Pipeline Project. The 46PCM also discussed the new Japanese Trust Fund-7 framework, future of the Regional Fisheries Policy Network (RFPN) program, and revision of the Regional Framework on Fishery Statistics of Southeast Asia. The outcomes of the 46PCM would be submitted to the forthcoming meeting of the SEAFDEC Council for consideration and approval as well as the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Fisheries (ASWGFi) through the Twenty-sixth Meeting of the Fisheries Consultative Group of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Strategic Partnership (26FCG/ASSP), which was organized back-to-back with the 46PCM.

Convened on 23-24 November 2023, the Twenty-sixth Meeting of the Fisheries Consultative Group of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Strategic Partnership (26FCG/ASSP) was attended by representatives from the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Member Countries, representative from the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as the SEAFDEC Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, and senior officials of the SEAFDEC Secretariat and Departments. The 26FCG/ASSP was co-chaired by the Director-General of the Department of Livestock and Fisheries of Lao PDR, Dr. Kaviphone Phouthavong, the current Chairperson of the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Fisheries (ASWGFi) and Secretary-General of SEAFDEC, Dr. Suttinee Limthammahisorn. The 26FCG/ASSP highlighted the follow-up actions carried out by SEAFDEC and the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) on the directives of the Fifty-fifth Meeting of the SEAFDEC Council in 2023, meetings of the ASEAN bodies related to fisheries, and other meetings of SEAFDEC in 2023, and also the status of programs and activities under the FCG/ASSP mechanism that was implemented by SEAFDEC in 2023 and those proposed for implementation in 2024 as endorsed by the 46PCM, and policy recommendations on important issues that impact the sustainability of the fisheries sector in the AMSs such as combatting IUU fishing, marine fisheries resources management, international fisheries-related issues, among others. The results and recommendations of the 26FCG/ASSP would be submitted to the SEAFDEC Council for approval and to the ASWGFi for endorsement to the higher authorities of the ASEAN.