Ma Youxiang, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, met with Ribanataake Tiwau, Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Development of Kiribati, in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on May 10. They had an in-depth exchange on fishery cooperation between China and Kiribati.

Vice Minister Ma welcomed Minister Tiwau and his delegation to China for the 2023 China–Pacific Island Countries Fishery Cooperation and Development Forum. He said that China and Kiribati, since their resumption of diplomatic relations, have achieved fruitful results in bilateral fishery exchange and cooperation. As a responsible major country, China will follow the principle of prioritizing ecological protection and resource conservation, and is ready to conduct close and practical cooperation with Kiribati in fisheries on the basis of friendly consultation and mutual benefit, so as to jointly take China–Kiribati fishery cooperation to a new level.

Minister Tiwau spoke highly of the friendly fishery cooperation between the two countries and agreed with Vice Minister Ma’s views and suggestions. He said Kiribati is ready to carry out more cooperation with China to promote the development of the fishery industry and improve people’s living standards.

After the meeting, the two sides signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Fishery Cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development of the Republic of Kiribati.