Vice minister heads to Singapore to expand smart farm exports

ASEAN+3 agriculture ministers' meeting to address food security cooperation

Singapore MOU to cover smart farm collaboration

Vice minister to tour advanced vertical farm, review K-food exports

Kim Jong-gu, vice minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, will visit Singapore to expand cooperation in smart farming and support Korean agribusiness companies looking to enter overseas markets. He is also set to discuss regional food security at the ASEAN+3 Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry meeting and sign an MOU on smart farm cooperation with the Singapore government.

The ministry announced Wednesday that Kim will make the two-day trip Thursday and Friday.

Kim will attend the 26th ASEAN+3 Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry meeting and deliver a keynote address. He plans to highlight the importance of cooperation in strengthening regional food security and reaffirm Korea's commitment to contributing to sustainable agricultural development.

Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Jong-gu speaks at a roundtable with companies on expanding the use of AI agricultural robots in the field and fostering industry growth, during a visit to the Seongju Melon and Vegetable Research Institute on Oct. 14. [Provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

The ASEAN+3 Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry meeting has been held since 2001 to expand agricultural and forestry cooperation among the 11 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Korea, China and Japan.

The visit will also advance smart agriculture cooperation with Singapore. Kim is scheduled to sign an MOU on smart farm collaboration with Singapore's Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.

The agreement aims to broaden the exchange of smart agriculture technology between the two countries and lay the groundwork for supporting Korean agribusiness companies in entering the Singapore market.

Kim will also tour GreenPhyto, billed as the world's tallest advanced indoor vertical farm, to review its operations.

A review of K-food export conditions is also on the agenda. Kim will meet with leading Korean restaurant operators and buyers in Singapore to gauge export and consumption trends for Korean food ingredients and hear the concerns and suggestions of locally operating companies.

Before departing, Kim will inspect border quarantine operations at Incheon International Airport. With a special winter quarantine period under way, he will review measures in place to prevent overseas livestock infectious diseases from entering Korea.

He also plans to visit duty-free shops at Incheon airport to check on K-food sales trends.

adastra@heraldcorp.com