Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh welcomed Mr. Han Changfu, Minister of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China and the accompanying delegation on India’s current tour. Singh said that “India attaches high priority to its relations with China and is committed to further develop friendly and cooperative relations with China”.
Shri Singh said relations between the two countries have witnessed all-round progress in recent years. High-level political exchanges and economic interactions have expanded and high level exchanges on the sidelines of multilateral events have also gained momentum.
Both countries have established strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity. Our countries are the fastest growing economies in the world, and our relationship has acquired regional, global and strategically significance.
Agriculture Minister informed that MOU in the field of Agriculture was signed between the two countries in 2006 and not much progress has been achieved so far. Both countries need to work together to identify new projects for adding momentum to the cooperation under the ambit of the MOU and meetings of Joint Working Groups be convened regularly.
The two countries have signed a document on a “Shared Vision for 21 Century ” that reflects the congruence of our interests and willingness to work on regional and international issues.
Shri Singh said that during the year 2013-14, India exported agricultural products worth Rs 2,68,000 crore. During the same period agricultural imports from China were US $ 304.31 million. China has been importing a large number of agricultural commodities from other countries and India has the potential to export those commodities to China.
Both countries can work together to explore ways for increasing bilateral trade between the two countries. There is great potential for trade of livestock products, basmati and non-basmati rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, Shri Singh said.