Fisheries Training Program of the Government of Indonesia for Asian, Pacific, and African countries as well as members of MSG is a reflection of Indonesia's commitment in providing capacity building through technical cooperation to fellow developing countries. "This is a clear evidence of the role of Indonesia in meeting the MDGs, in particular, in reducing the food security problem".
This is confirmed by Director General of Information and Public Diplomacy, Ambassador AM Fachir at the opening of two technical cooperation assistance programs in Indonesia under the framework of South-South Cooperation (KSS), this afternoon (5/07) in the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta.
Fisheries, according to Fachir, is one component in reducing food security problems. Through these two programs, namely the International Training Program on Freshwater Aquaculture for Asian, Pacific, and African Countries, and International Training Program on Fisheries Processing Product for Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Countries/Members, participating countries are expected to develop methods of fish processing in order increase people's income from fisheries production.
Furthermore, the Director General Fachir hoped that the momentum of technical cooperation program is not merely a medium of one direction education, but it can also be a means of sharing experience and skills for participating countries, as well as for Indonesia.
"This discussion forum is expected to build synergies and strengthen cooperation for the development of fisheries sector among developing countries" Fachir emphazised.
Two assistance programs of technical cooperation of the Government of Indonesia under the framework of South-South Cooperation were officially opened by the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Sharif. C. Soetardjo, and attended by foreign representatives of participating countries in Jakarta.
The program, held in cooperation between the Directorate of Technical Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, is the implementation of Indonesia's commitment to provide technical cooperation program for countries in the Asia, Pacific, Africa, and the Melanesian Spearhead Group member (MSG).
International Training Program on Freshwater Aquaculture for Asian, Pacific, and African Countries also invited 16 (sixteen) foreign participants such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Tonga, Mozambique, Namibia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, and 5 (five) Indonesian participants.
This training will be held at the Main Centre for Freshwater Aquaculture Development, Sukabumi, West Java, May 15, 2012. During the training, participants will have the opportunity to learn effective methods in the cultivation of freshwater fish that are useful to improve the quality of production of fishery commodities in order to meet the required nutritional standards.
Related to the second program, the International Training Program on Fisheries Processing Product for Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Countries/Members, Indonesia has also invited 7 (seven) foreign participants from Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
This training is specifically intended to allow participants to study a wide range of fishery-product processing techniques to provide value-added fishery products. (Source: Dit. KST/Dit. Infomed/PY)