Han Jun, Secretary of the CPC Leading Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of China, met separately with Prosper Dodiko, Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock of Burundi; John Steenhuisen, Minister of Agriculture of South Africa; Princess Dugba, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Sierra Leone; Grégoire Mutshail Mutomb Kangaji, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and Frank Tumwebaze, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries of Uganda, in Beijing on Sept. 3. The ministers were in China to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.  

In his meeting with Minister Dodiko, Secretary Han said China stands ready to further leverage the role of the Chinese agricultural expert team in Burundi and support Chinese and Burundian companies to co-invest in areas such as seed production, agricultural machinery assembly and maintenance, and agro-product processing, so as to advance bilateral agricultural cooperation at a higher level. Minister Dodiko spoke highly of China’s achievements in agricultural development and expressed his appreciation for the contribution of the Chinese expert team to Burundi’s agricultural development. After the meeting, Secretary Han and Minister Dodiko signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation between China and Burundi.  

In his meeting with Minister Steenhuisen, Secretary Han fully affirmed the achievements of China-South Africa agricultural cooperation. He suggested that the two countries should continue to cooperate in areas such as capacity building, animal disease prevention and control, and poverty reduction, and should support the research institutes from both countries to enhance joint research and people-to-people exchange. Minister Steenhuisen said South Africa hopes to work in tandem with China to expand areas for pragmatic cooperation in agriculture.  

In his meeting with Minister Dugba, Secretary Han noted that China and Sierra Leone have a sound foundation for fishery cooperation, and he looked forward to unleashing cooperative potential at a faster pace and achieving win-win results between the two countries. Minister Dugba expressed her appreciation for China’s assistance in Sierra Leone’s fishery development. She said Sierra Leone hopes to work with China to implement cooperation agreements and welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in the country.  

In his meeting with Minister Mutshail, Secretary Han reiterated that China stands ready to work with the DRC to reach a consensus on a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation at an early stage and jointly plan and design cooperative projects. Minister Mutshail said he expects an increase in the yield of maize, rice, and other crops in the DRC under the help of China, so that the DRC could enjoy an upgrade of its specialty industries.  

In his meeting with Minister Tumwebaze, Secretary Han said that China will earnestly implement the consensus reached by two heads of state and continue to work with Uganda to carry out SSC projects, thereby delivering benefits to more people. Minister Tumwebaze said Uganda looks forward to strengthened exchanges in agricultural research between China and Uganda and more personnel training from China, so as to generate more tangible cooperative results. 

Vice Minister Ma Youxiang also attended the meetings.