Bulgaria and China will strengthen cooperation and trade in agricultural and food products. This became clear during a meeting between the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Kiril Vatev, and the Deputy Director of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Qi Jala, at the Ministry of Agriculture. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Tanya Georgieva and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Bulgaria H.E. Mr. Dong Xiaojun.
“Our bilateral relations have always been good, I believe that our partnership in the Agriculture sector will continue to deepen and develop,” Minister Vatev said.
The two countries emphasized the important role of the Center for the Promotion of Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which was established in 2015 in Sofia.
Deputy Minister Georgieva emphasizes that he is developing extremely active activities and connects various businesses between China and CEE.
“The center undertakes various initiatives related to attracting young farmers and entrepreneurs, for knowledge transfer, implementation of innovative projects in the field of agriculture, circular and bio economy, irrigation, as well as solutions for dealing with food waste”, explained Tanya Georgieva .
According to Mr. Qi Djala, in recent years good results have been observed in the cooperation between Bulgaria and China in various fields, but especially fruitful in the field of agriculture. “Bulgaria is a leading country in agricultural cooperation between China and CEE,” he said.
During the meeting, the Chinese delegation expressed a desire to have an exchange of experience in the field of agriculture and practices of the European Union. “This is a very important topic for China, as we have a population of 1.4 billion people and 18 billion decares of land that we need to use in a good way,” explained the deputy director of China’s Agriculture Committee.
The Deputy Minister explained that since 2014, the European policy in the field of agriculture has been working on its green practices at a significant pace. From this year, the targets and commitments given to farmers across the EU are very ambitious. Farmers are expected to make a major contribution to achieving the general goals of reducing greenhouse emissions, the use of plant protection products and antimicrobials.
“The transition to a higher level in agriculture is related not only to ensuring food security, but also to caring for natural resources and people’s health. We are faced with numerous challenges at the national level for the implementation of new methods in the field of primary production and processing,” Deputy Minister Georgieva emphasized. She pointed out that for the rapid transfer of knowledge and innovations in practical science, the Ministry of Agriculture relies on the Agricultural Academy, the scientific institutes and the National Agricultural Advisory Service.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pavlina Georgieva graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of the “St. Kliment Ohridski”. In Agrozona, her priority is organic farming and healthy foods, rose production, beekeeping, hunting and fishing.
Tags: Bulgaria China strengthening cooperation trade agricultural food products
