On 29 May 2020, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov had a meeting in the SCO Secretariat with a delegation of the Administrative Committee of the Yangling Agricultural High-tech Industry Demonstration Zone led by Li Jiuhong, Executive Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee.
Vladimir Norov focused on the strengthening of agricultural cooperation within the SCO amid the COVID-19 pandemic by sharing experience and experts, building up trade in agricultural products and using modern technology to improve their quality.
The SCO Secretary-General mentioned the importance of promoting collaboration between the specialised agricultural zones in the SCO countries and implementing joint agrarian projects.
He noted that the Yangling zone has considerable potential for boosting agricultural cooperation among SCO countries.
Vladimir Norov expressed gratitude to the zone's Administrative Committee for providing the member states with the resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Li Jiuhong thanked the SCO Secretary-General for highly assessing the zone's operations and expressed readiness to promote agricultural cooperation within the SCO.
"President of China Xi Jinping said at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of States, held in Bishkek in June 2019, that China was ready to promote agricultural cooperation in the region by hosting an SCO Demonstration Centre for Agricultural Technologies Exchange and Training in the Shaanxi Province," Li Jiuhong pointed out.
Those attending the meeting praised the success of the October 2019 roundtable discussion on strengthening modern agricultural cooperation in the name of promoting the Shanghai Spirit, the opening of the agricultural training centre for the SCO member states, as well as the ground-breaking ceremony for the SCO Demonstration Centre for Agricultural Technologies Exchange and Training.
They also discussed measures that could be taken to implement the initiatives set forth by SCO delegations during the roundtable discussion in 2019, as well as their countries' agricultural ties and prospects for their further development.
Seeking to promote practical collaboration amid the coronavirus pandemic, the participants proposed holding meetings and seminars of representatives of the SCO member countries agricultural authorities via videoconferences.