Speech delivered by Mrs. Bung-orn Saisithi, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Fisheries, Thailand, at the Opening Ceremony of the Second Provisional Governing Council Meeting, 12 January 1988, FAO Regional Office, Bangkok.
Your Excellency, Mr. Minister,
Mr. Chen Foo Yan, Dr. T.V.R. Pillay. Mr. New,
Distinguished delegates and guests, ladies and gentlemen:
It is both a privilege and a pleasure for me to welcome you to Thailand on behalf of the Department of Fisheries. As many of you already know we have just concluded a landmark conference on NACA, the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Adoption of the Agreement constituting NACA into an independent regional organization.
As the vice president of the Conference, which was held last week in this very room, I am happy to report that the Conference was a great success. The 19 delegates representing 12 governments along with the representatives of SEAFDEC, UNDP and FAO, deliberated at length on the various aspects of the Agreement. The signing of the Record of Adoption and the Agreement is a culmination of several years of preparation by the tripartite partnership of the participating governments, the UNDP and the FAO.
NACA is one of the few successful examples in which the principle of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries has become a practical reality. In establishing networking activities in research, training and information exchange, it has laid a very strong foundation for technology transfer between and among countries in the region for the expanded development of aquaculture. NACA has clearly shown that the networking approach is efficient and cost-effective. It has also proven that by pooling resources and sharing responsibilities, common regional problems can be resolved for mutual benefit.
Since it started operation, the NACA project has given more stress on the transfer of existing technologies and filling up gaps in knowledge to improve management practices for higher productivity. But better management can only be possible by generating more knowledge through disciplinary and basic research. Since such research cannot be undertaken economically by any one centre or institution, there is need to pool resources and share responsibilities according to expertise available in the region.
Again, this calls for regional cooperation and networking arrangements, with the possibilities of using intergovernmental NACA as the Umbrella Network. With the signing of the Agreement the NACA participating governments, which are mostly from developing countries, will take over the responsibility of bearing the cost of managing and operating NACA.
It is hoped that further support is forthcoming from FAO, UNDP and other donor governments and agencies, in an effort to strengthen the joint endeavour of the NACA member-governments in achieving the larger objective of NACA.
With this note, I welcome you once again to Thailand, and hope that you have a fruitful meeting and a pleasant stay in Bangkok.
Thank you.
