Mr. Bi Meijia, Member of the CPC Leading Group and Director General of the Department of Personnel and Labor of the MOA, met with Mr. Valentín Ticona, Vice Minister of Rural Development and Land of Bolivia, and exchanged views on advancing China-Bolivia agricultural cooperation in La Paz on 2 March 2017.
Mr. Bi Meijia made positive comments on the achievements of bilateral agricultural cooperation since the signing of the Framework Agreement on Agricultural Cooperation between China and Bolivia, and put forward concrete proposals on intensifying such cooperation. He suggested that the two sides maximize the role of the China-Bolivia Joint Committee on Agriculture to strengthen cooperation in science and technology exchanges, trade and investment. He also underlined that the two sides should establish joint laboratories and promote personnel training and germplasm exchanges by fully capitalizing on China's agricultural technologies and Bolivia's varied topography and germplasm resources.
The Bolivian side agreed with Mr. Bi and expressed its willingness to facilitate the establishment of working mechanisms between the two ministries and promote exchanges in agricultural scientific research. Bolivia hoped that China could help establish joint laboratories and research and development centers to cement cooperation in areas such as quinoa, pesticides and small-scale farm implements.
After the meeting, Mr. Bi and Mr. Ticona signed the Joint Action Plan on Agriculture between China and Bolivia, and visited the production base of the International Quinoa Center in Bolivia.
Mr. Wu Yuanshan, Chinese Ambassador to Bolivia, accompanied the MOA delegation during the stay in Bolivia.