From May 15th to 19th, Prof. Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) in Pakistan visited HZAU along with his delegation. During the visit, both parties jointly held a seminar on China-Pakistan Horticulture Research and Demonstration Center and signed an agreement to establish an international joint laboratory for horticulture research. President Li Zhaohu and Vice President Qing Ping of HZAU met with the guests respectively, and various directors participated in the exchange, including directors from Graduate School of HZAU, Office of Scientific Research and Development, Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, and College of Horticulture & Forestry Sciences.
Overall view of the on-site meeting
President Li delivers a welcome speech
Signing ceremony（Photo/Chuan Zhu）
On May 16th, HZAU held a welcome and opening ceremony for the seminar at the International Academic Exchange Center. At the ceremony, President Li, on behalf of the University first extended a warm welcome to Dr. Khan and his delegation. He then underlined that HZAU has attached great importance to cooperation and exchanges with UAF in various fields to address challenges such as world politics, energy and climate change in the post-pandemic era. He reviewed the progress of the Center and underlined the crucial role of horticulture in transforming lifestyles and improving the quality of life. To illustrate this point, he emphasized the significance of incorporating an orange into daily diets to bolster immunity. He noted that the establishment of the international joint laboratory for horticulture research between the two universities marks a new milestone in their cooperation. It would effectively promote sustainable cooperation and development in the field of horticulture between both sides. He hoped to deepen the cooperation on scientific research, exchanges of teachers and students, technical services and results transformation, and make greater contributions to the nutritional and healthy food to meet people’s needs for pursuit of a better life by joint hands.
Dr. Khan echoed President Li Zhaohu’s insights and reaffirmed the importance of cooperation, highlighting the role that horticulture plays in tackling global food security challenges through innovative solutions and technology transfer for agricultural and social development. The delegation also strolled through the campus, explored its museum and library, and met with Pakistani students at the university.
Delegation visits Museum of HZAU
Meet-and-greet of Pakistani students
At the seminar, experts and scholars from both sides discussed how to promote the implementation of joint research projects in the China-Pakistan Horticulture Research and Demonstration Center. They had group discussions on four issues of the seed fund: citrus variety evaluation, popularization and the R&D demonstration of high-quality production technology, research and training on post-harvest quality maintenance and standardization of post-harvest operation of Kinnow citrus fruit, research on germplasm enhancement and cultivar extension of vegetables, as well as landscape gardening management and construction technologies. The discussions helped clarify the specific content of the seed fund project and promoted further implementation of joint research projects at the Center.
The delegation also investigated the development of horticulture industry in Hannan District, the southwest outskirts of Wuhan, and visited Wuhan Chuwei Biotechnology Co., Ltd., which was founded by Zheng Wei, alumnus of HZAU.
The foundation stone of University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), a public research university, was laid in 1906 with the name of Punjab Agricultural College and Research Institute. The university is one of the top five research institutions in Pakistan, ranking among the top three higher education institutions in Pakistan. Notably, it enjoys a high reputation for its outstanding agricultural and veterinary disciplines as well as for its high graduate employment rate.
Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2023/0521/66615.shtml
Translated by Chen Hao
Supervised by Guo Haiyan
