Vice Minister Qu Dongyu met with Dr.Joseph M Made, Minister of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe, in Beijing on July 28 2016. The two sides exchanged views on promoting the bilateral agricultural cooperation in an all-round manner.
Vice Minister Qu stated that the two countries have maintained good cooperative relations and frequent high-level exchange of visits in agricultural sector in recent years. The two sides have conducted a series of pragmatic cooperation activities in policy exchanges, S&T exchanges, personnel training and investment in agriculture, and remarkable achievements have been made in this respect.
To further deepen the bilateral agricultural exchanges and cooperation, Vice Minister Qu suggested:
(ⅰ) Enhancing cooperation in agricultural human resources development. The two sides will develop a specific plan for human resources development in agriculture through consultation;
(ⅱ)implementing the agriculture-related initiatives adopted at Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC);
(ⅲ) Deepening cooperation in agricultural trade and investment promotion;
(ⅳ) Promoting the sustainable development of the China-aided agro-technology demonstration center in Zimbabwe.
Dr.Joseph M Made fully agreed with Vice Minister Qu on his comments and suggestions. He also expressed his appreciation to China for its assistance and support, hoping that China will assist Zimbabwe in formulating agricultural development plan and identifying directions and priorities.
He also expressed that the Zimbabwean side stands ready to conduct mutually-beneficial cooperation with China and make greater progress in crop production, animal husbandry and horticulture, further improving the bilateral agricultural cooperation and contributing to the well-being of the two peoples.