Taiwan and the Philippines signed a cooperative memorandum of understanding on livestock research Dec. 10 in Taipei City, highlighting the partners’ commitment to bolstering mutually beneficial agricultural ties.
Signed by Wallace Minn-gan Chow, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, and Corazon Avecilla-Padiernos, chair and resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the agreement fosters collaboration between the two sides’ agriculture and technology departments in fields from livestock reproductive technology and breed registration systems to ex-situ genetic resource preservation and genetic improvement systems.
Taiwan and the Philippines face challenges such as climate change, extreme temperatures and transborder animal diseases, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Both countries can benefit from joint workshops, skill training sessions and research exchanges on breed improvement, disease prevention, livestock industry upgrades and circular agriculture technology advancement to jointly develop more sustainable livestock businesses, it said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the memorandum followed the 12th Taiwan-Philippines Agricultural and Fishery Cooperation Meeting held Nov. 26 in Taipei. The two sides agreed to continue strengthening substantive interaction between the agricultural sectors and promoting industrial links and personnel cultivation during the event.
Taiwan and the Philippines have promoted comprehensive cooperation since an agreement on agriculture and fishery collaboration was inked in 2005, the MOFA said. The Philippines is a key partner in Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, the ministry noted, adding that the government will further deepen bilateral industrial and technological research connections to promote sustainable development of the two side’s agricultural sectors. (YCH-E)
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