H.E. Dr. Charoen Kanthavong
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives
On behalf of the Royal Thai Government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and particularly on my own behalf, I wish to welcome you all to Thailand and to this Third Meeting of the Provisional Governing Council of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia. Thailand has been privileged to host three important meetings of the Network. These were the Second Advisory Committee Meeting in 1982, the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in January last year and the Second Meeting of the Provisional Governing Council which immediately followed. The last two meetings played a key role in laying the groundwork for the transition of NACA from a UNDP-funded and FAO-executed Project to an intergovernmental and autonomous institution.
As host of the NACA Headquarters for the last eight years, the Royal Thai Government has been closely associated with the Network from the start. It is to be hoped that the new intergovernmental NACA will choose to remain in the country. In this connection, I am pleased to inform you that the Cabinet has approved the participation of Thailand in the intergovernmental NACA. While waiting for the Agreement to be signed, we have been studying and working on the immunity status and other appropriate privileges that will be granted to the intergovernmental NACA.
In the developmental activities of the NACA Project, I am happy to note that the Department of Fisheries, the National Inland Fisheries Institute, the Brackishwater Fisheries Division, and the National Institute of Coastal Aquaculture have collaborated actively in the research, training and information exchange activities of the Network. The National Inland Fisheries Institute houses the NACA Headquarters and, as one the Regional Lead Centres of NACA, has contributed its share of the Network, activities in the true spirit of regional cooperation. Also, I have been informed that NIFI has implemented several network programmes within its area of competence, as well as served as host to several seconded junior scientists from other participating centres and institutions in the Network, not to mention the fact that the services of some of our fish disease specialists have been made available to other countries.
Thailand is also a participant of the UNDP/FAO Seafarming Development Project involving eight countries. Our National Institute of Coastal Aquaculture and Brackishwater Fisheries Division are active in this project. I understand that the Seafarming Project is executed by NACA. This has given substance to the concept of a NACA umbrella under which several regional aquaculture development projects are coordinated and backstopped. Indeed, I recall with pleasure that this umbrella concept of the Intergovernmental NACA was strongly supported by our former Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives in his address to you last year. The present leadership of the Ministry maintains the same vigorous stand for an umbrella network of aquaculture Centres in Asia and the Pacific.
Aquaculture has increasingly assumed more importance in the economy of almost every country in Asia. Its contribution to the social and economic well-being of the Thai people had been recognized a long time ago. In fact, the significance of aquaculture has been sustained through the kingdom's recent history; one of the very first Royal Initiated Projects of our present King, Rama the Ninth, was the Royal Aquaculture Project inaugurated in 1952. Mindful of the fact that marine resources have reached or soon to reach their limits, the Royal Thai Government has accorded a high priority to aquaculture the view to provide the poorer segment of the rural areas with the much needed source of protein as well as the opportunity to earn extra income. On the other hand we are aware of the constraints facing us, foremost among which is the low level of production technology in comparison, for instance, to the other sectors of agriculture such as livestock husbandry. In this connection, we would like to see the upgrading of the technology in aquaculture to the same level as in other sectors of agricultural development. It is gratifying therefore to note that the new NACA will continue to offer the mechanism for regional cooperation in aquaculture development endeavors, through which we can pool our efforts and resources as well as share responsibilities to make our collective efforts more cost-effective.
May I invite you all to join me in expressing our appreciation to the various donor governments and assistance agencies, both bilateral and multilateral, for their valuable support to the NACA Project, I sincerely hope that the cooperation and interest will be continued for the benefit of member countries and the Region as a whole. I wish you every success in your deliberations and a pleasant stay in Thailand.
The Third Meeting of the NACA Provisional Governing Council is now declared open.
