Iran, China explore ways to launch joint agricultural
projects

Iran’s minister of agriculture Javad Sadatinejad said on
Wednesday that Tehran and Beijing need to boost their cooperation and launch
joint research projects in the sector of agriculture. 

“More joint projects [in the sector of agriculture] need to
be set up and the researchers of the two nations should increase their
interaction in this regard,” Sadatinejad, who has travelled to China as a
member of the Iranian president’s entourage, said in a meeting with Dr. Kang
Ming, the chairman of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

He added that these projects could be carried out in a wide
range of improvement programs, including rice cultivation in saltwater,
livestock breeding and nutrition reform projects and reform of seed
regulations.

The Iranian minister further expressed joy over the rising
number of Chinese students studying agriculture at Iran’s decent universities.

Dr. Kang, for his part, called for enhanced cooperation
between Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture and China’s Academy of Agricultural
Sciences,

He said, "The knowledge developed here at the academy
is transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture of China; we will later send the
knowledge to research centers across the country and then our farmers”.

Iranian President Ebrahmi Raesi arrived in Beijing on
Tuesday at the head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation on an
official invitation by his Chinese counterpart.

In a meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded the close
relationship between Iran and China, stressing that Beijing will “unswervingly”
develop friendly cooperation with Tehran irrespective of international and
regional changes.