Minister Han Meets with Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Source: MOA Department of International Cooperation

April 12-Minister Han Changfu met the visiting Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to exchange opinions on enhancing bilateral agricultural cooperation and some issues of common concern.

Minister Han pointed out that the 40-year diplomatic relationship between the two countries had been stable and witnessed smooth and substantial progress in the cooperation of agriculture. Particularly thanks to the China-Canada Joint Committee on Agriculture, the two countries have been able to jointly solve issues of common concern, promote agricultural cooperation, and advance bilateral trade in agriculture.

The Chinese Minister proposed four pieces of suggestions to enhance agricultural cooperation between the two countries: first, to make full use of the Joint Committee on Agriculture for planning and coordination of agricultural collaboration, focusing on high level visits, and exchanges and cooperation of technologies; second, to support the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to continue with the agricultural cooperation projects in China; third, to build a fair and equitable trade environment for the sound development of bilateral trade in agriculture, in particular, to facilitate the export of China s cooked poultry meat and frozen fresh poultry meat from specific disease-free areas to Canada, and; fourth, to advance the cooperation of the two countries private sectors.

The Canadian Minister, Mr. Gerry Ritz, fully agreed with Minister Han, and stated his readiness to promote private sector cooperation and advance agricultural cooperation for practical benefits, hoping that the joint efforts from the two sides could bring about a win-win situation for bilateral agricultural cooperation and trade.

After the meeting, the ministers signed the MOU between the two ministries on China-Canada cooperation in agriculture and relevant fields, to expand and diverse cooperation. According to the MOU, the two sides have decided to conduct cooperation in policy communication, agricultural production and processing technology, animal health and production, and quality and safety of agricultural products.