TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 2nd annual Aid International and Development Forum (AIDF) Food Security Summit: Asia 2014 will take place in Jakarta on October 8 and 9. The two day summit will focus on issues concerning food security in the Asia-Pacific region, which still is home to more than 750 million individuals living in abject poverty - defined as living under USD 1.25 per day.

The event will be attended by more than 300 representatives from regional government, NGOs, the United Nations (UN), intergovernmental agencies and private sector companies, who would be encouraged to engage in frank information-sharing, which is hoped to inspire strategic partnerships and innovative solution to the issue of food insecurity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Project Director Sonja Ruetzel has called on all participating stakeholders to really move the discourse to the next level, urging private sector companies to join the framework for action. "Based on the discussions at last year's AIDF Food Security summit and continuous research this event aims to take the debate a step further and really push for change and set a framework for action engaging all actors," said Ruetzel.

Keynote speakers include the Special Envoy to the President of Indonesia for Poverty Alleviation H.E. Dr. Harbrinderjit Singh Dillon, Director of CAPSA at UNESCAP Katinka Weinberger, and the Director General of Agriculture Infrastructure and Facility at the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Gatot Irianto. (*)