"China has achieved rapid development in the past few decades, and has made world-renowned achievements in various fields of construction, which has also brought huge opportunities to the development of the world economy." Eritrea's Minister of Agriculture Arefaine Berhe recently told this newspaper In an exclusive interview, the reporter said that agricultural cooperation is an important part of Eritrea-China cooperation and is of great significance to Eritrea's maintenance of food security. "Eritrea and China have broad prospects for agricultural cooperation, and the China-Africa Cooperation Forum will add new impetus to practical agricultural cooperation between the two countries," Arefaine said.

　　Agriculture is the mainstay of Eritrea's economy, with about 4/5 of the country's population engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. In order to support the agricultural development of Eritrea, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China has dispatched three groups of experts to carry out technical assistance work in Eritrea involving legume crops, fruit tree gardening, oilseeds and other fields. The unit yield of broad beans, rapeseed and other trial varieties has increased by 50% compared with local varieties. above.

　　Arefaine said that China has used 9% of the world's arable land to feed nearly 20% of the world's population, and has completely eliminated absolute poverty, creating a historic achievement that has attracted worldwide attention. He believes: "Developing agriculture is the first step to get rid of poverty. Learning from China's development experience will benefit African agriculture."

　　Arefaine said that the current agricultural cooperation between Eritrea and China is advancing in an orderly manner and has achieved remarkable results. The agricultural cooperation between Eritrea and China has reference significance for agricultural cooperation around the world. "Eritrea and China have a profound traditional friendship and have always respected each other and treated each other as equals. Eritrea-China agricultural cooperation is a friendly cooperation based on 'win-win' and is of great significance." Arefaine said that Chinese agricultural experts and local agricultural experts The workers interacted and cooperated well and established deep friendships. Chinese experts have also trained a group of local agricultural technology and management talents, injecting endogenous impetus into the long-term development of Eritrean agriculture. Chinese companies in Eritrea actively assume social responsibilities, promote the development of agriculture in Eritrea, and bring tangible changes to the lives of local people.

　　In recent years, more and more Eritreans have become interested in Chinese culture and begun to learn Chinese. People-to-people exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have become more frequent. In 2023, Arefaine's daughter won the championship in the first division of the "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and represented Eritrea in the global finals in China. He said: "I am proud of her. The mutual understanding and friendship between the people of Eritrea and China continue to deepen, which will further promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields."

　　Arefaine said that strengthening agricultural cooperation between Eritrea and China and between Africa and China in the new era will add new vitality to building a closer Africa-China community with a shared future. "In the future, we hope to strengthen cooperation with China in irrigation and agricultural mechanization and promote the development of modern agriculture in Eritrea. We will actively promote pragmatic cooperation between Eritrea and China in the agricultural field and achieve more new results in agricultural modernization, technology exchanges, personnel training, etc., and will To better benefit the people of Eritrea and promote the continuous development of Eritrea-China relations.”

　　(This newspaper reports from Asmara)