Declaration of the Belt and Road & South-South Cooperation Agricultural Education, Science and Technology Innovation League

(June 22, 2018)

The Belt and Road Initiative is intended to facilitate joint development, realize common prosperity in cooperation, enhance trust and understanding, strengthen overall communications, and cultivate peacefulness and friendship. In recent years, the pattern of global agricultural development has been significantly transformed; the international community attaches more importance to agricultureas a pillar industry, paying more attention to the integrative use of global agricultural resources and the further development of agricultural produce market while showing more eagerness toward international agricultural cooperation. TheBeijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will be held on September 2018. The comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Africa will be further deepened and expanded. Close cooperation in the area of agricultural education and science and technologywill be established between China and the countries alongside the One Belt and One Road and some countries or regions of South-South Cooperation, and the building of international platform will be jointly advanced. This is of great significance to the countries for agricultural development, policy dialogue, ecological construction, technical exchanges, and education cooperation, etc.

China Agricultural University partnered with some domestic and overseas institutions of higher learning in agriculture and forestry industries and established the Belt and Road & South-South Cooperation Agricultural Education, Science and Technology Innovation League, with the aim of realizing the overall coverage of the area with complete industrial and disciplinary education and science and technology in the countries along Belt and Roadand countries or regions of South-South Cooperation. China Agriculture University aims to building a new platform of international cooperation, adding new driving forces for joint development, facilitating the advantageous complementarity and cooperative development of domestic and overseas institutions of higher learning in agriculture and forestry industries, andadvancing the mutual benefits and win-win effects in agricultural economy development.  

The League will uphold the concept of peaceful cooperation, opening inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefits, and win-win effects and arecommitted to advancing the close cooperation among the members in the areas such as agricultural research, technical application, policydialogue, talent cultivation, and culturalcommunication. Through building cooperative platform and sharing resources, the members will jointly advance the agricultural education and scientific and technological progressand development in the countries along Belt and Road and the countries or regions of South-South Cooperation.

The League will hold regular conferences of the Belt and Road & South-South Cooperation Agricultural Education, Science and Technology Innovation League and discuss key agricultural issues in the relevant countries or regions. The League encourages all members to follow the common framework, establish multilateral or bilateral cooperation, actively explore a mechanism of innovation on the international education, training, science and technology, and cultural cooperation and exchanges, and jointly construct the cooperation center, technological demonstration base, and other projects.  

Upholding the concept of opening and sharing,the League will open membership to more higher education and research institutions in the light of the commitment to making use of the respective advantages, increasing the common views, deepening the cooperation, and taking joint efforts to establish the international cooperation on new agricultural education and science and technology with all-around coverage, wide extension, multiple layers, and high level.

The Belt and Road & South-South Cooperation Agricultural Education,

Science and Technology Innovation League