HÀ NỘI — More than 160 young entrepreneurs and leaders from ten ASEAN countries along with representatives of South Korea, Japan and China on Thursday gathered in HCM City to discuss and share hi-tech agriculture initiatives, pioneering the realisation of the objectives of the ASEAN Economic Community and contributing to building a sustainable ASEAN Community.

The theme this year is “ASEAN+3 Young Entrepreneurs Towards Innovative Agricultural Startups”.

It aims to address the desire to unleash the economic potential of young people in ASEAN, strengthen capacity and widen the network of young entrepreneurs, facilitate job creation and economic growth in the long term, and contribute to the development of human capital in ASEAN.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Secretary of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Nguyễn Ngọc Lương said the relationship among the countries had developed in all aspects in the past.

“Innovation and startups in hi-tech agriculture is a global trend. It needs the co-operation of countries, young people and young entrepreneurs who will play a key role in this field,” said Lương.

During the forum, he said comments, ideas and exchanges of experience among delegates and experts would contribute to improving knowledge for each young entrepreneur, thereby contributing to the development of the ASEAN+3 community.

Tan Sijie Darren, a representative of the Singapore delegation, said he was working in a high-tech farm on the terrace of a building in downtown Singapore. The farm employed retired people and provided clean vegetables and fruits to locals.

Tan said ASEAN countries were facing many problems such as population growth, climate change and urbanisation, affecting many areas, including agriculture. Innovative startup was therefore an ideal solution to tackle the problems.

Instead of entering stable working environments, young people are seeking solutions to food issues for the community. The creativity, co-operation and sharing of youth and young entrepreneurs in hi-tech agriculture will help stabilise and develop high-quality food in every country as well as the ASEAN +3 community.

At the forum, which will ends on Sunday, participants discussed the lessons of startups, opportunities and challenges in starting hi-tech agriculture.

The forum is the realisation of the Hà Nội Initiative, endorsed by ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth, with focus on nurturing young human resources, which took place in November 2011.

The same day, they also visited several models of hi-tech agriculture in HCM City and the southern province of Đồng Tháp. — VNS