On 10 October 2019, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov met with Ms Li Jing, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Industries Demonstration Zone. The meeting was held at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing.
Ms Li Jing updated the SCO Secretary-General on the preparations for and the holding of the 26th China Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair (CAF), which will be held on 21-24 October 2019. Delegations from the SCO member states have been invited to the event, which includes a roundtable discussion on cooperation between the SCO member states.
The organisers have prepared a separate programme for each delegation. The CAF will also be used as a means of developing contacts with representatives of 94 companies from around the world. In all, the CAF organisers expect delegates from 50 countries and approximately one million visitors.
SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov thanked Ms Li Jing and highlighted the importance of the Yangling agricultural fair for the countries of the SCO family. He said that agriculture underpins the prosperity of any country, which is why the SCO member states signed an agreement on cooperation in agriculture in Tashkent on 11 June 2010.
Mr Norov pointed out that the CAF could become a permanent platform for agricultural cooperation between the SCO countries, including when it comes to research, production, the exchange of technologies and the training of personnel.
"The roundtable discussion and the establishment of an SCO agricultural research centre/institute, which are included in the programme of the fair, will make a major contribution to our common cause. In this context, it would be reasonable to prepare an SCO action programme on agricultural cooperation that will cover a wide range of related sectors, such as ICT, logistics and phytosanitary standards. The fair will become a generator of ideas and will help strengthen public-private partnership," the SCO Secretary-General said.