ASEAN-China Centre Attended the South-South Cooperation & the Belt and Road Initiative High-Level Dialogue of the Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress 2018

On 25 June 2018, the Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress 2018 was held at China National Convention Center in Beijing. Mr. Guo Chuanwei, Trade and Investment Director of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) was invited to participate in the afternoon's high-level dialogue under the theme of “South-South Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative”.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Hans Friederich, Director General of International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR). Ms. Charlotte Salford, Associate Vice-President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) made a keynote speech at the dialogue. She expressed high appreciation for China's role in the foundation, as well as China's positive role in poverty alleviation, technology transfer, foreign investment and in promoting the development of developing countries. She said that bamboo and rattan resources are of great significance to agriculture and related industries and can effectively help rural areas to achieve rapid economic development and provide more opportunities for development for the people of developing countries, especially women and the youth. She called for the joint protection of the world's bamboo and rattan resources, the diversified development of bamboo and rattan, and the implement of more projects to promote South-South cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, so as to benefit more countries and people in the world.

In the discussion session, Ms. Cynthia Villar, Senator and Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture of the Philippines, Mr. Francois Martel, Secretary General of Pacific Islands Development Forum, Ms. Dessima Williams, former UN Special Adviser on the implementation of sustainable development goals, Ms. Jenny Kim, Vice Director of Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and other speakers carried out heated exchanges on a variety of topics, including the use of bamboo and rattan resources to cope with climate change, improving the living standards of the people in developing countries, advancing South-South cooperation and sustainable development, promoting policy dialogues, technology transfer, education and training on the bamboo and rattan industry, as well as strengthening cooperation between regional bamboo and rattan organizations.

At the meeting, representatives of the Yong’an municipal government of Fujian province briefed on Yong’an’s active participation in the green Belt and Road Initiative. INBAR released the "China Bamboo and Rattan 2018 Yellow Pages". The Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress 2018 was sponsored by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China and International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, with the theme of South-South Cooperation on Bamboo and Rattan Promotes Green Sustainable Development. The congress covers scientific research, technology exchanges, product display and trade, with a high level of internationalization and specialization. About 1200 people from INBAR member states, international organizations and non-governmental organizations, scientific research institutes, universities and business communities participated in the 3-day conference.