SEAFDEC convenes the Forty-second SEAFDEC Program Committee Meeting and Twenty-second FCG/ASSP Meeting

The Forty-second Meeting of the SEAFDEC Program Committee (42PCM) was organized on 11-13 November 2019 in Chiang Mai, Thailand to review the projects implemented by SEAFDEC in 2019 and endorse the projects and activities for 2020. Hosted by the SEAFDEC Training Department (TD) in cooperation with the SEAFDEC Secretariat, the 42PCM reviewed the progress and achievements of 23 ongoing projects under the FCG/ASSP Mechanism, comprising 21 projects that are categorized based on the SEAFDEC Program Thrusts, and two Special Projects. Out of these projects, 20 projects would be completed by December 2019, while three projects would be continued in 2020. The 42PCM also reviewed the 13 new projects under the FCG/ASSP Mechanism that would commence in 2020, ten Departmental Programs, and one Other Program. In addition, the 42PCM also discussed the progress of the revision of the Resolution and Plan of Action on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security for the ASEAN Region Towards 2020 as directed by the SEAFDEC Council during its Fiftieth Meeting in 2018, as well as the draft procedures for establishment of cooperation between SEAFDEC and other organizations. Results of the review of the projects implemented in 2019 and the programs of activity proposed for 2020 were submitted for endorsement to the Twenty-second Meeting of the Fisheries Consultative Group of the ASEAN-SEAFDEC Strategic Partnership (22FCG/ASSP), which was organized back-to-back with the 42PCM.

Convened on 14-15 November 2019, the 22FCG/ASSP highlighted on the follow-up actions carried out by SEAFDEC and the ASEAN Member States (AMSs) on the directives of the Fifty-first Meeting of the SEAFDEC Council in 2019, meetings of the ASEAN bodies related to fisheries, and other meetings of SEAFDEC, and also the status of programs and activities under the FCG/ASSP mechanism that were implemented by SEAFDEC in 2019 and those for implementation in 2020 as endorsed by the 42PCM, the progress of proposals under FCG/ASSP framework, and important issues that impact on the sustainability of the fisheries sector in the AMSs. The results and recommendations of the 22FCG/ASSP would be submitted to the SEAFDEC Council for approval and to the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Fisheries (ASWGFi) for endorsement to the higher authorities of the ASEAN.