On the afternoon of September 15, Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and governor of Hunan Province, met with Mamitiana Rajaonarison, prime minister of the Republic of Madagascar, and  his delegation in Changsha. They came to Hunan to attend the 5th International Summit on BDS Applications.

Also present were Madame Andriamanamfhaga, wife of Madagascar's prime minister, Hunan provincial leaders Wang Daoxi, Chen Jing, and Xiao Bailing, and Secretary General of the Hunan Provincial People's Government Wang Wei'an.

Governor Mao Weiming meets with Mamitiana Rajaonarison, prime minister of the Republic of Madagascar.

Madagascar, located in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa, is the largest island country in Africa, with a land area of 592,000 square kilometers and a population of about 30.3 million. Its economy is based on agriculture, and the country is rich in mineral resources.

Governor Mao welcomed the guests and briefed them on Hunan's profile. He said that since 2007, Hunan has established hybrid rice demonstration bases in Madagascar, promoting the large-scale cultivation of rice seed locally. This makes Madagascar the African country with the largest hybrid rice planting area. Hunan enterprises have helped Madagascar's mutton products enter the Chinese market, marking China's first import of mutton products from Africa. An increasing number of Malagasy students have come to Hunan for study, and exchanges in culture, tourism, and education between two sides have grown increasingly frequent.

Mao noted that Hunan is one of China's most active provinces in economic and trade cooperation with Africa. The province will earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state; fully leverage the platform advantages such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and the Pioneering Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation; deepen economic and trade exchanges, innovate cooperation models, and strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with Madagascar; and, jointly write a new chapter of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.

The meeting.

Prime Minister Rajaonarison remarked that Hunan is an old friend of Madagascar. Hybrid rice from Hunan has lifted the Malagasy people out of hunger; the targeted poverty alleviation experience explored by Shibadong Village is highly instructive. He expressed his hope that this visit will be an opportunity to further enhance pragmatic collaboration between the two sides in infrastructure construction, agricultural product processing, BDS applications, and other fields. Both sides should continue to strengthen friendship to achieve win-win development.

During his stay in Hunan, the prime minister and his delegation attended the 5th International Summit on BDS Applications, held discussions with Hunan entrepreneurs, and visited Changsha City, Zhuzhou City, and Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.

In Shibadong Village, Prime Minister Rajaonarison visited the Targeted Poverty Alleviation Exhibition Hall and the local households to experience firsthand the achievements of targeted poverty alleviation. He also visited the Lianhua Supermarket in Furong Paradise Walk, the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, SANY Group, Hunan Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., and the Hunan Meteorological Bureau, to gain detailed understanding of cooperation and development prospects in trade, industry, meteorological early warning, and other fields between the two sides.

At Hunan University, Mamitiana Rajaonarison delivered a public speech, witnessed the unveiling of the Research Center for Madagascar of the Institute of African Studies of Hunan University, and held discussions with Malagasy students studying in Hunan.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn