China, Mongolia and FAO prepare for co-op agreement

Beijing/Ulaanbaatar - China and Mongolia are moving forward to implement activities following an agreement reached last month on South-South cooperation, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization announced today.

The two countries and the FAO signed the Memorandum of Understanding in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on March 14. The South-South Cooperation (SSC) Tripartite Agreement between Mongolia, the People's Republic of China and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was signed during the 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific, held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The aim of this Agreement is to select and field Chinese experts and technicians who will make up the SSC team and assist with the implementation of the SSC program in Mongolia. During the course of two years, the Government of the People's Republic of China will closely collaborate with the Government of Mongolia, the host government, in identifying, designing and implementing an SSC program in support of food security through the implementation of the National Program for Food Security and the National Livestock Program. Technical assistance will be provided by Chinese experts and technicians in areas identified by the host government (e.g. animal feed production, horticulture, poultry production, livestock and animal husbandry, bee farming and aquaculture, etc.). Agricultural inputs and equipment will also be provided as appropriate for demonstration purposes, with the implementation of capacity development activities including technical training and exchanges.

José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General, who attended the ceremony, expressed his sincere thanks to the contribution and support provided by China to the success of FAO's South-South Cooperation initiatives for the improvement of global food security. "China has been one of the important partners of FAO's South-South Cooperation Program since it was launched in 1996," Graziano said.

Graziano pointed out that the first phase of the South-South project had been successfully implemented. "Nineteen Chinese experts and technicians were involved in these efforts. They helped strengthen the capacity of their counterparts in implementing activities that contributed to the fulfillment of the National Program for Food Security of Mongolia. Based on the successful experience and results of the first phase of the project, the Government of Mongolia requested the implementation of a second phase of this South-South Cooperation," the Director-General added.

During the second phase, and on the basis of the expressed needs and objectives discussed with China, Mongolia will receive technical assistance from 12 experts and five technicians and Mongolia will provide the facilities and logistics support to host them. The program is funded through the Chinese Trust Fund with a total budget of nearly $1 million.

The Tripartite Agreement, the Project Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding were signed by H.E. Battulga Khaltmaa, Minister for Industry and Agriculture of Mongolia, H.E. Sun Zhonghua, Chief Agronomist of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China and Percy W. Misika, the FAO Representative for both countries.

H.E. Khaltmaa expressed his gratitude to the efforts made by FAO and China to promote the SSC project. He said that the SSC program between Mongolia, China and FAO is very important and that with the strong support and cooperation of FAO and the Government of China, it will deliver huge benefits to the people of Mongolia.

H.E. Sun Zhonghua expressed his appreciation to the support of FAO and Mongolia, noting that China and Mongolia have had very close cooperation in agriculture. Zhonghua said that he was confident that Mongolians will learn a lot from the Chinese cooperants and the Chinese SSC cooperants will make a great contribution to the food security in the country. He also highlighted that the first phase of the SSC project was implemented successfully and the Government of China was pleased that this collaboration has been extended to the second phase.

Contacts:

Festus Akinnifesi, Chief, FAO South-South Cooperation festus.akinnifesi@fao.org

Percy Misika, FAO Representative for China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Mongolia percy.misika@fao.org

Sheikh Ahaduzzaman, FAO Deputy Representative for Mongolia sheikh.ahaduzzaman@fao.org