Han Jun, Secretary of the CPC Leading Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), met with Fernando Mattos Costa, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Uruguay, who was in China for the Third China–CELAC Ministerial Forum on Agriculture, in Beijing on July 5.  

Secretary Han noted that the strategic guidance of the leaders of both countries sets a clear direction for deepening agricultural cooperation between China and Uruguay, resulting in increasing friendship in agriculture in recent years. Thanks to the strong support from Uruguay and other CELAC countries, the Third China–CELAC Ministerial Forum on Agriculture concluded with great success. China hopes to work with Uruguay to fully implement the consensus reached by the two leaders and achieve substantial results in agricultural cooperation, thus bringing more benefits to the farmers of both countries.  

Secretary Han said at present, as the China–Uruguay mechanism for agricultural cooperation continues to improve, science and technology exchange is advancing smoothly, and agro-trade is growing steadily. China has been the largest importer of Uruguay’s agro-products for ten consecutive years. The two countries have shown great coordination in global agricultural governance. China stands ready to work with Uruguay in the following areas: 1) Expanding and deepening cooperation in the beef sector. 2) Convening the third meeting of the China–Uruguay Joint Committee on Agriculture in China at an appropriate time with a focus on the key areas outlined in the China–Uruguay Five–Year Plan on Agricultural Cooperation. 3) Accelerating the construction of China–Uruguay demonstration farms, focusing on green, intelligent and digital agriculture.  

Minister Mattos congratulated China on successfully holding the Third China–CELAC Ministerial Forum on Agriculture, saying that deepening agricultural cooperation with China is a common goal among agricultural ministers of the CELAC countries. Uruguay hopes to work in tandem with China to further raise the level of bilateral cooperation in agriculture and strengthen mutual learning, so as to make a positive contribution to the friendly relations between Uruguay and China, as well as between CELAC and China.  

Ma Youxiang, Vice Minister of MARA, attended the meeting.