Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, said on Sunday that China has made a miracle in achieving food security.
“China feeds 22 per cent of the world’s population with 7 percent the world’s arable land,” Qu said at the ongoing World Youth Forum (WYF) held at Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Sound agricultural policy, innovation, and good management are keys to the Chinese success in achieving food security, he said.
“The Chinese government also adopts stable policy to attract investment in the agricultural field from both public and private sectors and build an open market to attract foreign investment,” he added.
The FAO chief said, China has been sharing its experience in the agricultural sector with African partners for decades and is willing to strengthen cooperation in areas of agricultural development plan, new techniques and new varieties of grain.
“Government-to-government cooperation has been quite mature and in-depth, but more investment from the private sector should be encouraged,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Qu signed with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry a letter of intent on cooperation to enhance the empowerment of women and youths.
Spokesperson for Egyptian Foreign Ministry Ahmed Hafez said in a statement that the foreign minister expressed appreciation for the FAO chief’s keenness to participate in the WYF, emphasizing that Egypt attaches priority to achieving food security within the sustainable development strategy Egypt’s Vision 2030.
Egypt recognizes the link between food security and decent livelihoods, Shoukry stressed, highlighting the importance of maximizing cooperation with the UN.
According to the spokesman, the meeting also focused on the central role of the FAO in assisting African countries to implement the agenda of Africa 2063, especially the aspect of food security and sustainable development of the agricultural sector.