India pleased with Indonesia's desire to collaborate on food security

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday expressed happiness over Indonesia's desire to collaborate with India on the issue of food security, and added that the bilateral visit had a very clear indication of convergence between the two countries.

"In WTO, particularly our concerns as two populous countries, with countries having enormous responsibilities and commitment to ensure that we have food security for our citizens. We have just passed the Food Security Act, and it is very imaginative, far reaching and a very ambitious commitment in the social sector that anyone can have," he said.

"This is an area we are very pleased to hear from Indonesia and their desire to collaborate with us. This is a significant flagging to both countries and we are happy that it has come instinctively from the Indonesian side," he added.

Khurshid further said that the Food Security Programme was not just reasonable, but this was a moral imperative.

"Bilaterally, as well as multilaterally, this is an issue of very high importance for us, and once you pass a legislation of a kind that we have, it wasn't easy. We had to put in a lot of efforts as many people had questions, all which had to be answered satisfactorily," he said.

"It is the implementation and the panning out of the programme that will convince the cynics. We are convinced that this is not just reasonable but this was a moral imperative. This is something we had to do for our people, and this is something that must go hand in hand with strategies,' he added.

Earlier on Friday, India and Indonesia decided to collaborate to ensure food security for their people.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said both countries needed to work together to ensure adequate food stocks for their peoples.

He also stressed on the importance to safeguard food market from price distortions.