Global agricultural leaders convene in Beijing to strengthen South-South cooperation

Global agricultural experts and officials gathered in Beijing on Friday to discuss successful cases of South-South agricultural cooperation and to explore future directions for strengthening collaboration.

The event, known as the Global South I-Dialogue on Agriculture, was co-hosted by the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center (FECC) under China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), according to a media statement from the FECC.

Themed around exploring new opportunities in the Global South, the dialogue gathered government representatives from developing countries, including Sri Lanka, Morocco and Uganda. Delegates from international organizations such as the UNOSSC and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and representatives from major financial institutions such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation joined the conference as well.

In his opening remarks, Zhang Lubiao, the director general of FECC, emphasized China's commitment to leveraging South-South cooperation as a platform to explore new models for agricultural development in the Global South. He highlighted the importance of fostering collaboration among developing nations to tackle shared agricultural challenges.

UN's China Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee noted that agriculture in the Global South faces serious obstacles, including climate change and resource scarcity. He stressed that increased cooperation between developing countries will offer a practical and effective means to address these issues and advance sustainable agricultural practices.

Edirimanna Rallage Shiromani Priyangika, agricultural and technology additional secretary of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, stressed the importance of ongoing South-South cooperation between China and Sri Lanka under the FAO framework. She urged all participating countries to deepen collaboration through South-South and triangular cooperation, strengthen mutual confidence and jointly work towards a more prosperous and resilient future for agriculture in the Global South.