Vice Minister Qu Dongyu headed a delegation to the 4th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security in Piura, Peru, on September 27, and delivered a keynote speech "Coordination and Innovation for Sustainable Agricultural Development".
Vice Minister Qu spoke highly of APEC food security cooperation, emphasizing that we should enhance our coordination to cope with the challenges facing the world today, including financial crisis, population growth, diminishing farmland, loss of resources and climate change, among others. He pointed out that it comprises an important basis for poverty eradication to further promote sustainable agricultural development and food production, trade and commodity circulation, and improvement of regional food security and food productivity. In the next five years, China will eliminate rural poverty according to its current standard, which is an important decision of China to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Relying on innovation, China will energetically promote agricultural modernization, and enhance agricultural efficiency and competitiveness.
Vice Minister Qu put forward a three point initiative to boost APEC food security cooperation. First, strengthening R&D to promote sustainable agricultural development capacity and level. Second, implementing the 2030 Development Agenda to cope with multiple challenges of agriculture. China will put development in the first place. While developing itself, it will continue actively participating in global development cooperation, constantly deepen its cooperation with APEC, and do its utmost to support other developing members in implementing the 2030 Development Agenda. Third, protecting and developing important agricultural heritage and boosting modern agricultural and rural development. China encourage and support APEC members to share successful experiences in agricultural heritage management and typical models of rural revitalization.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. José Manuel Hernández Calderón Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of Peru. Three Ministers, six Vice Ministers and other senior officials from nine economies including Papua New Guinea, Viet Nam,etc. attended the meeting. The Meeting adopted Piura Declaration on APEC Food Security.
Before the meeting, Vice Minister Qu held a bilateral meeting with Minister Hernández Calderón. The two leaders exchanged views on strengthening the bilateral agricultural cooperation. Vice Minister Qu suggested that the two side should maintain frequent communication and contact to share the experience in agricultural development; strengthen bilateral agricultural technology exchanges and explore the possibility of cooperation in tropical agricultural breeding research, personnel and technological exchanges, to improve common capacity in agricultural innovation; and promote the bilateral free trade development, intensify agricultural trade and optimize trade structure.