Aug 23, 2011
On 22 August 2011, Agriculture Minister Han Changfu had a bilateral meeting with his Tajikistani counterpart K.Касымов，according to arrangements of the visit to Tajikistan of Mr. Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC), and secretary of the Committee of Political and Legislative Affairs, CCCPC,.
Касымов stated that in recent years, under the support of Chinese and Tajikistani leaders, agricultural cooperation between the two sides has increased quickly. In June 2011, the two sides signed an agreement of the Chinese and Tajikistani governments on enhancing cooperation between Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China and Tajikistan. At present, cooperation between China and Tajikistan in various areas including rice cultivation and farm machinery has gone very well and yielded good results. Касымов hoped that in the future Tajikistan would continue to gain support and assistance from the Chinese side in a wide range of areas such as agricultural technology and seeds, and expect an increased exchange and cooperation in development of personnel, farm machinery, cotton and rice cultivation.
Han expressed that the two sides should implement important consensus reached by the Chinese and Tajikistani leaders on strengthening agricultural cooperation, and conduct concrete cooperation in areas such as rice, cotton, and vegetable cultivation according to the agreement. The Chinese side would continue to encourage and support relevant enterprises to engage in agricultural trade and investment on the basis of mutual benefit. He hoped that both China and Tajikistan would create a better environment for agricultural trade and investment, and provide more benefits and convenience for personnel and enterprises of the two sides. Besides, Han mentioned that both China and Tajikistan, as members of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), should continue to support each other and cooperate in regional agricultural development.
Касымов agreed with Han on the suggestions. He stated that the Tajikistani side would work together with the Chinese side to promote and enhance exchange and cooperation in agriculture and agricultural trade for the benefit of the peoples from the two countries.
On August 21, accompanied by Касымов, Han visited the Chinese rice farm and Tajikistani farm machinery test station.
On August 22, at presence of leaders from both countries, Han and Касымов signed Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Tajikistan