Bangkok, Dec 04: Thailand's department of fisheries is joining hands with the Asia-Pacific branch of the International Organisation for Marketing News and Technical Service Consultations for Marine Animal Products (Inofish) to host the organisation's 18th Governing Council meeting on the southern resort island of Phuket. According to a statement released by the department, the meeting will look at ways to ensure maximum benefits for member states, for instance through the provision of fisheries training, and the organisation of workshops and seminars on marketing and technical issues.

It is hoped that the meeting will lead to close cooperation between the public and private sectors of all the member states in terms of promoting processing and exports of fisheries products within the Asian Pacific region.

Participants at the meeting, scheduled for December 10-13, will include delegates from India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Maldives, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka and Thailand, together with representatives of international agencies and observers from Iran and Vietnam. Bureau Report