The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation said on Wednesday that Egypt and China have made their strategic scientific partnership official with a new cooperation protocol. This protocol is meant to promote research, academic collaboration, and the exchange of expertise.
On Tuesday, Egypt’s Desert Research Center, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, which is also part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, all signed the agreement. The protocol’s goals are to improve applied scientific research, encourage sustainable development, and make it easier for people to share what they know about farming and protecting the environment.
Setting up a regional office of the China-Africa Research Center at the Desert Research Center in Cairo is an important part of the cooperation. The office will be a place where Chinese, Egyptian, and North African research institutions can work together more closely on both a one-on-one and a group basis. It will also be in charge of joint training programs to help African professionals improve their skills and abilities.
The agreement will cover a number of topics, such as how to manage natural resources in a way that is good for the environment and how to use remote sensing technology to improve farming in delicate ecosystems, especially in light of the problems that climate change is causing.
Alaa Farouk, Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, called the protocol a big step forward for scientific research and solving important environmental problems. He stressed that the partnership would also help bring advanced Chinese farming technologies to the area to help people adapt to climate change and make better use of scarce natural resources.
The Belt and Road Initiative is expected to provide funding for joint research projects, which will help the collaboration move forward even more. Officials from both countries said that this partnership not only strengthens scientific ties, but it also helps Egypt and the rest of Africa reach their broader sustainable development goals.
