NEW DELHI, India (September 9, 2026)—Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. is calling for stronger ASEAN-India cooperation as geopolitical tensions, climate shocks, and volatile energy and farm input costs threaten to disrupt food supplies across the region.
Tiu Laurel made the call on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the Ninth ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry in this Indian capital, where ministers and senior officials discussed ways to make agriculture and food systems more resilient to global disruptions.
The meeting focused on cooperation in areas including food security, climate resilience, agricultural innovation, and resilient value chains.
Speaking for the Philippines as ASEAN chair for 2026, Tiu Laurel said the region can no longer treat food security as a purely domestic concern as shocks to trade, transport, energy, and agricultural inputs increasingly cross borders.
India, he said, is an important partner because of its experience in agriculture, food systems, research, technology, and capacity development. ### (By DA – OSEC Comms)
