Another meeting with Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry of Shaanxi Province

On October 21, 2022, a meeting was held with scientists from the Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry (PRC), organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in China.

Scientists of agrarian universities of the Republic of Belarus, divisions of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, representatives of the Main Directorate of Education, Science and Personnel Policy of the Ministry of Agriculture and scientists of Northwestern University were invited to participate in the meeting. The meeting was also attended by undergraduates from this university who are interning at the academy.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the PRC Yuri Senko, who visited the Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry on September 19, 2022, made a welcoming speech. During his visit to the University he found out that they were interested in expanding cooperation with agricultural universities of the Republic of Belarus in specific areas.

Vice President of Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry Luo Jun, confirmed the university's interest in establishing new contacts and expanding cooperation.

Then the rector of the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy Vitaly Velikanov briefly introduced the meeting participants to the results of cooperation between the academy and the university from 2020 after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, and outlined priorities for further cooperation as well. Head of BSAA research unit A.N.Ivanistov shared the positive experience of scientific cooperation with the Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry. In the future, cooperation will be continued to conduct environmental tests of plant varieties in the soil and climatic conditions of Belarus, exchange raw material to expand the genetic diversity of plants, verify the genetic quality of corn, sugar beets, and legumes. Cooperation with the Department of Ichthyology and Fish Farming on sturgeon breeding also aroused the interest of the Chinese party.

The academy's proposals included the development of joint 2 + 2 programmes at the Bachelor and Master levels, including those conducted in English.

The Embassy of the Republic of Belarus, in particular, Vladimir Brizhenko, the official representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food at the Embassy of Belarus in the PRC, has done a great job in preparing this meeting. As a result, scientists of both parties have been found, who is interested in establishing scientific and technical cooperation.

Summing up the meeting, the Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to China noted that 2022 is a significant year - 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the People's Republic of China. He expressed the hope that this meeting will give impetus to the signing of new documents on cooperation, finding new common ground in conducting scientific research in the agrarian sphere.

For reference: Shaanxi Province is located in central China. The area is 205,600 square kilometers, the total population is 39.54 million people. The province is one of the main centers for the development of Chinese civilization, as well as an important transport hub under the "Belt and Road" initiative. In 2021, the province's gross regional product was 2.98 trillion yuan (14th nationally). Key industries: energy and chemical industries, aircraft industry, agriculture. The province has the largest deposits of oil, gas and coal. Shaanxi Province ranks 1st in the country for apple production.

S.A. Noskova
Head of International Cooperation Department