Professor Sun Tan, Vice President, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Professor Qian Yu, Acting Director General, Department of International Cooperation CAAS
Distinguished Professor Felix Dakora, Senior Advisor to the Chinese Government and my mentor
Distinguished Professors and Researchers of CAAS in your respective capacities
Ladies and Gentlemen. Good Morning.
It is a great pleasure to be here today at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, (CAAS). On behalf of His Excellency, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, I extend our deep appreciation to the Chinese Government and the leadership of CAAS for your continued friendship and collaboration.
From the outset let me on behalf of the Chairperson of the AU Commission commend H.E. President Xi Jinping for providing strong and clear leadership that continues to deepen China-Africa relations. As we meet here this morning, China under President Xi is not only accelerating its development trajectory, it is providing pivotal leadership that would undoubtedly shape the future of the new global order. We commend President Xi for advancing the Ten Partnership Actions including Accelerating the Modernization of Agriculture in Africa under FOCAC and the zero-tariff policy which came into force on 1 May this year.
I would like to extend our profound appreciation to Prof. Felix Dakora, one of Africa’s most renowned and accomplished scientists, for facilitating this meeting at a very short notice. I am pleased to be here for this initial exchange with CAAS and some of China’s leading agricultural experts.
