Vice Minister Qu Dongyu met with Mr. Alejandro Gamboa, Director General of the Presidential Agency of International Cooperationof the Republic of Colombia, in Beijing on Sept. 1st, 2016. The two sides exchanged views on deepening the bilateral agricultural cooperation.
Vice Minister Qu noted that China and Colombia have maintained friendly relations and enjoy broad prospect for cooperation in agriculture. He proposed suggestions on deepening the bilateral agricultural cooperation as below:
(1) Giving full play to the role of the China-Colombia Joint Committee on Agriculture, which will meet for the third time this September;
(2) Enhancing agricultural R&D cooperation, including the consultation on the establishment of a joint platform for tropical crop research, for which a tripartite cooperation agreement is expected to be signed among MOA, Colombian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in September;
(3) Deepening the bilateral agricultural trade. China invites Colombian exhibitors to the 14th China International Agricultural Trade Fair (CATF) in November this year;
(4) Facilitating investment cooperation. China will encourage its enterprises to invest in Colombia, and support integrated agricultural development programs in Columbia;
(5) Human resources development. China will provide training opportunities for Colombian agricultural officials and technicians in China.
Mr. Alejandro Gamboa agreed with Vice Minister Qu and expressed his appreciation for China's long term support to Colombia's economic development.
Mr. Alejandro Gamboa stated that Columbia attaches great importance to its agriculture and rural development in advancing peaceful development. He stressed that Columbian will continue deepening the friendly relations with China and press ahead with the pragmatic cooperation with China in investment and trade, agricultural technology, personnel exchanges and other areas in agriculture.