Recently, the 2021 Belt and Road International Cooperation and Development Forum on Agricultural Modernization, co-sponsored by the China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation and Jiangsu University, was held in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, with the theme of “Strategies to Cope with Challenges of Sustainable International Cooperation and Development in Post-Epidemic Era.”
Carlos Watson, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) representative to China, Dejene Tezera, director of the Department of Agri-Business of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Hassan Daud Batt, the Director of the Department of Commerce of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and the former Director of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Office, etc. attended the opening ceremony of the forum.
Strengthening international cooperation in modern agriculture is of great significance to maintaining food security and economic and social stability in the Belt and Road region and even the whole world.
The forum is conducive to further consolidating the foundation of interconnection cooperation, expanding new spaces for international cooperation, and providing professional guidance and services for international talents and project docking.
In order to further improve the Belt and Road agricultural modernization, the Jiangsu University has decided to comprehensively strengthen cooperation with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and other units. At the opening ceremony, ESCAP and Jiangsu University signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation, and the Project of International Cooperation Alliance on Agriculture Equipment at CPEC-the Station for Innovation and Cooperation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province held a launching ceremony.
According to Yan Xiaohong, President of Jiangsu University, Pakistan’s KP Innovation Cooperation Station will vigorously promote local agricultural development in the form of a demonstration farm for intelligent agricultural machinery and equipment.
“How to deal with the challenges and opportunities of global agricultural development in the epidemic era?” “How to realize the transformation of sustainable food system?” “What new requirements does carbon peaking and carbon neutrality put forward for agricultural mechanization?” At the forum, participating experts explained the trends and policies related to the Belt and Road international agricultural cooperation.
Representatives from Deyuan Group, Jiangsu Yueda Intelligent Agricultural Equipment, Weichai Lovol Heavy Industry and other leading agricultural equipment industry representatives, together with representatives from the United Nations, Pakistan, Nepal, Cote d’Ivoire, held a round-table discussion on the training of international talents for agricultural equipment in the post-epidemic era and the challenges and opportunities encountered by agricultural equipment companies “go global” strategy.
