On January 9, Mr. Gilberto Correia Carvalho Silva, Minister of Agriculture and Environment of Cape Verde, led the delegation of the Cape Verde South-South Cooperation Program to visit SAAS. President Cai Youming and Vice President Zhao Zhihui received the guests.

President Cai extended warm welcome to the Cape Verdean delegation. He pointed out that Cape Verde is an important partner of SAAS under the framework of South-South Cooperation. Under the China-FAO-Cape Verde South-South Cooperation Program, SAAS dispatched expert from the Crop Breeding and Cultivation Research Institute to Cape Verde to carry out cooperation in pest and disease control as well as technology extension, which has yielded positive outcomes. Building on this foundation, he expressed the hope to further expand bilateral cooperation in such fields as joint R&D, platform co-construction and talent cultivation, so as to elevate China-Cape Verde agricultural science and technology cooperation to a new level.

Mr. Silva spoke highly of the achievements of the South-South Cooperation Program and expressed his gratitude to the Chinese expert team aiding Cape Verde. He noted that 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Cape Verde's independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cape Verde, which provides a vital opportunity for deepening bilateral cooperation. He looked forward to further optimizing the cooperation mechanism with SAAS and, relying on our technological advantages, obtaining practical technical solutions and implementation paths for Cape Verde to improve agricultural production efficiency and promote the transformation and upgrading of its agricultural and food systems.

Vice President. Zhao stated that China-Cape Verde agricultural cooperation aligns with the development needs of both sides. Going forward, under the framework of South-South Cooperation and with the support of the FAO, long-term cooperation mechanism can be established to broaden the space for technical exchanges and cooperation in characteristic agricultural industries. He emphasized that SAAS will actively integrate scientific research resources, take project cooperation as the link to deepen China-Cape Verde agricultural science and technology collaboration, and contribute the strength of Shanghai agricultural science to safeguarding global food security.

Ms. Yang Liuyan, Deputy Director of the Research Administration Division (Office of International Cooperation), and Huang Shixin, Director of Shanghai Animal Disease Control Center, respectively reported on the progress of their institutions' participation in South-South Cooperation. Representatives of Cape Verde also expressed their gratitude for the support from Chinese experts and their willingness for future cooperation.

Prior to the meeting, the delegation visited the Shanghai Soil Science and Technology Museum, the Flower Innovation Center, and the pilot-scale platform of the National Engineering Research Center of Edible Fungi.

The Cape Verdean Ambassador to China, the Acting FAO Representative in Cape Verde, the Director of the Cape Verde National Institute of Agriculture, relevant responsible persons and scientific and technological personnel from the International Cooperation Department of the Shanghai Municipal Agriculture and Rural Commission, Shanghai Animal Disease Control Center, as well as Research Administration Divion, Crop Breeding and Cultivation Research Institute, Forest and Fruit Tree Research Institute, Institute of Edible Fungi and Eco-environment Protection Research Institute of SAAS attended the meeting.