Agriculture & Food

According to Cambodian media, China and Cambodia will set up a joint working group to formulate a development plan for Cambodia's agricultural modernization. At the same time, the Cambodian side hopes that China will speed up the negotiation of the product quarantine protocol, so that Cambodian bird's nest, durian and pepper can be directly exported to China as soon as possible.

On the morning of August 18, Zhang Lubiao, director of the Foreign Economic Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, held a meeting with Cambodian Minister of Agriculture Ong Sakhun.

Zhang Lubiao said that this visit aims to strengthen and expand agricultural cooperation between China and Cambodia, especially to help Cambodia formulate a master plan for agricultural modernization development. The Chinese side has formed a national-level team to allow experts with the ability and experience to formulate plans.

Ong Sakhun spoke highly of the achievements of China-Cambodia agricultural cooperation and expressed his gratitude to China for its long-term support. Ong Sakhun mentioned that Cambodian longan will soon be exported to China. He hoped that China could speed up the negotiation of the quarantine protocol, so that bird's nest, durian and pepper could be directly exported to China as soon as possible.

Ong Sakhun told the media that the ministries and commissions of the two countries signed an agreement as early as January 11, 2018, to formulate plans for the modernization of Cambodia's agriculture. The discussion on the development plan began on August 13 of the same year, and then was forced to postpone due to the epidemic, and the contract between Henan University of Technology and CITIC Construction Co., Ltd. was also forced to terminate.

It is understood that the first group of experts dispatched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China to aid Cambodia's agricultural development planning project has arrived in Phnom Penh. The expert group will carry out a 60-day work in Cambodia, conduct docking discussions with local agricultural departments, and investigate relevant provinces. China and Cambodia agreed to translate policies into actions in the future, and the Chinese government will provide financial support.

The two sides agreed to set up a joint working group to jointly formulate an overall plan for Cambodia's agricultural modernization development, focusing on rice, corn, rubber, cassava, bananas, mangoes, cashews, meat, and aquatic products. The master plan will focus on connecting producers, private businesses and markets, enhancing quality, safety and standards in cultivation, processing and packaging to meet the needs of consumers in Cambodia and abroad.