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The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, and the Vice Minister of Agriculture, Mr Yu Kangzhen, met today (April 23) in Beijing and signed a co-operation arrangement to strengthen co-operation and exchanges on veterinary matters between the two places.
Dr Ko said at the meeting, "Over the years, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the Food and Health Bureau have been maintaining close liaison regarding outbreaks of animal or plant diseases with significant or latent impacts on the two places, as well as collaboration on veterinary matters. The co-operation arrangement lays down a solid foundation for further collaboration between the veterinary departments of the two places. This is conducive to fortifying our joint efforts on the prevention and control, as well as surveillance and risk assessment, of veterinary diseases, for the purpose of safeguarding animal and human health."
According to the co-operation arrangement, both parties will further enhance exchanges and collaboration on areas including legislation on veterinary matters, regulation of practising veterinarians, notification of incidents of animal diseases and major food safety incidents with primary animal origin, international veterinary matters and personnel training. Co-operation in activities organised by the World Organisation for Animal Health will also be strengthened.
As regards surveillance on animal diseases, the veterinary departments of the two places will enhance communication, especially at times of outbreaks of animal diseases or zoonotic diseases, to ensure timely notification. Both parties have also agreed to launch collaborative projects in laboratory technology and scientific research in relation to serious animal diseases such as rabies, foot and mouth disease and avian flu.
Furthermore, both parties have agreed to strengthen collaboration on the maintenance of the Equine Disease-free Zone (EDFZ) in Conghua, Guangzhou, as well as on such pertinent matters as disease surveillance, import of horse feed and drugs, etc. The EDFZ in Conghua was established for the equestrian games at the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010. It has set down a useful model for the import and export of horses from different countries and of different health conditions, which has been widely recognised by various governmental veterinary organisations internationally.
Ends/Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:58
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