Ministry of Agriculture of People Republic o : Minister Han Changfu meets Serbian counterpart Branislav Nedimović

Minister Han Changfu meets Serbian counterpart Branislav Nedimović

DATE:2017-01-20 SOURCE:Information Office, MOA

　

Minister Han Changfu met with Mr.Branislav Nedimović, Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, in Belgrade on Jan.17, 2017. The two sides conducted in-depth and extensive exchanges on furthering the bilateral agricultural cooperation.

Minister Han's visit to Serbia aimed at implementing the Joint Statement on the Establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between China and Serbia signed by the two heads of state during the visit of President Xi Jinping to Serbia in last June,and promoting the bilateral agricultural cooperationto a new high.

Minister Han noted that China and Serbia enjoy traditional friendshipand the two countries are highly complementary in agriculture with enormous potential for cooperation. Remarkable achievements have been made in agricultural researchandtradesector.

To further the bilateral agricultural cooperation, Minister Han suggested:

(1)Strengthening exchanges on agricultural policies and pressing ahead with agricultural investment cooperation under the framework of the 'Belt and Road Initiative' by leveraging respective strengths in agricultural production conditions, capitalsand technologies;

(2)Making good use of the China International Agricultural Trade Fair (CATF) and other platforms to promote the bilateral agricultural tradeand facilitatethe access of quality agricultural specialties ofSerbia to China's market;

(3)Encouraging research institutes of both sides toestablish effective cooperation mechanismsand conduct pragmatic cooperation in germplasm, livestock, agricultural equipment and protected horticulturein forms ofjoint study, personnel exchanges and co-building of labs;

(4)Capitalizing on theChina-Central-Eastern European Countries cooperation (the 16+1 cooperation)mechanism to boost the bilateral agricultural cooperation.

Mr.Branislav Nedimović fully agreed with Minister Han, stressingthat Serbia stands ready to work with China to enhanceagricultural product processing and research, andfurther expand agricultural trade. The Serbian side will offer favorable conditions in land use and taxation to Chinese enterprises intending toinvestin Serbia.

Afterthe meeting, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation.

During his stay in Serbia, Minister Han also visited a dairy farm, a vegetable and fruit processing plant,a winery and a maize research institute.