As a follow-up event of the trilateral meeting held in Vientiane, Lao PDR in June this year, the Veterinary Bureau (VB) of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) of China, Department of Agriculture of Yunnan Province, FAO China ECTAD Office jointly organized the Stakeholder Workshop for Cross-border Safer Animal Trade in Kunming, Yunnan Province from 12 to 13 September 2016. The key outcome of the meeting was that, China, Lao PDR and Myanmar signed the minutes of the Stakeholder Workshop for Cross-border Safer Animal Trade, and reached an agreement on the recommendations of the meeting.

The Workshop aimed to strengthen the cross-border cooperation on the prevention and control of animal diseases in the border regions of China, Lao PDR and Myanmar, to facilitate the legal movement and safer trade of live animals and animal products, and economic and social development of the border regions. Over 60 participants from the VB of the MoA of China; General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ); Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR; Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Myanmar; FAO ECTAD RAP; FAO China ECTAD; national veterinary agencies; veterinary departments of Yunnan Province, municipal governments of Yunnan Province and private sectors attended the meeting. The meeting involved a mixture of information sharing and facilitated participatory sessions with an emphasis on the animal safer trade pilot project framework and plan, roadmap of the pilot project and future activities.

While in Kunming, the China, Lao PDR and Myanmar delegates and FAO also held a Consultative Meeting on South-South Cooperation (SSC) Project on the control of transboundary animal diseases in Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS). The delegates considered the priority animal diseases and key steps to proceed with further approval and implementation of the project activities. Through the meeting, the delegates agreed to participate in the SSC Project on Transboundary Animal Disease Control in Greater Mekong Sub-Region, and agreed in principle on the draft concept note.