Cai Ge, Chinese Ambassador to Eritrea, and Arefaine Berhe, Agricultural Minister of Eritrea, together with a team of Eritrean officials, visited the demonstration park of the third batch of China-aided agricultural technology projects in Eritrea on Nov. 15, 2022. During the visit, they learnt about the growing conditions of apple trees, legumes and oil crops, and had in-depth discussions on future work. Yu Jinming, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Eritrea, also participated in the visit.  

Ambassador Cai pointed out that agriculture features prominently in Eritrea’s economy, and has long been a major area of China’s assistance to the country. Focusing on the major concerns of Eritrea, China has introduced top-quality Chinese seedlings to Eritrea from multiple channels, and has vigorously demonstrated planting techniques and carried out technical cooperation regarding apples, legumes and oil crops in Eritrea. 

To seize the window for spring ploughing, China put in every effort to coordinate the resources of all parties, and pressed ahead with the preparations for the projects.  In just a few months, China initiated the projects, conducted feasibility studies, signed exchange notes, and selected experts and seedlings. Thanks to the hard work, Chinese agricultural experts, fruit seedlings, and agricultural machinery all arrived in Eritrea before the rainy season in April, and the seedlings were planted on time, thus laying a solid foundation for the successful implementation of the projects. Ambassador Cai expressed his confidence in China-Eritrea agricultural cooperation by stating that the projects will yield fruitful results.   

Minister Berhe highly commended the current achievements of the China-aided agricultural technology projects in Eritrea. He stressed that China completed all necessary procedures of the projects within a very short time, thoughtfully considered the needs of Eritrea, and selected seedlings that suit Eritrea the most. Furthermore, China also overcame the headwinds of the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the arrival of Chinese experts prior to the rainy season, started the demonstration planting before the advent of heavy rains, and successfully planted more than 200 high-quality apple seedlings introduced from China. He was deeply impressed by China’s efforts. Seeing the apple trees, legumes and oil crops in the demonstration park, Minister Berhe cheerfully said, “New breakthroughs in China-Eritrea agricultural cooperation have been achieved!” (From Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in The State of Eritrea)