Remarks of V.I.Norov, SCO Secretary-General at the 13th Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum
 
Dear friends!

I am pleased to welcome you to the Forum for Development of Organic Agriculture and Food Security as part of the One Belt, One Road initiative, which has potential to change the world for the better and create new opportunities for cooperation.
 
I would like to express special thanks to the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries for inviting you all to today's event. I consider the event is relevant and timely.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the international community to focus its collective efforts on overcoming its negative challenges not only in the epidemiological, but also in the socio-economic sphere.
 
The economic crisis triggered by the pandemic has hit us at a time when the number of people suffering from hunger or malnutrition continues to grow steadily.
 
A major global food emergency is brewing.

In the longer term, we may face disruptions in the functioning of food systems with severe health and nutrition consequences.
 
According to the latest United Nations data, number of hungry people in the world may increase by 132 million in 2020 as a result of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
 
While the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 820 million people did not have access to enough food in 2018.
 
The world's population is growing rapidly, and food production does not meet all their needs due to unsustainable use, degradation and desertification of land resources, environmental degradation and climate change.
In this context, one of the keys to maintaining the stability and sustainable development of society is to improve food security.

The SCO countries, with a rural population of 52.6% or almost 1.7 billion people, have also faced a number of problems related to threat of supply chain disruptions, rising food prices, forced market closures and destruction of businesses and households.
 
In this regard, this year it was decided to develop joint measures aimed at expanding the potential of multilateral cooperation within the Organization in the agricultural sector.
 
In particular, the SCO member States intend to pay special attention to the effective implementation of the current Program of Cooperation on Food Safety.

The updated program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Development of the SCO member States until 2035 places special emphasis on achieving sustainable management of agricultural resources and stimulating innovative development of agro-industrial clusters.
 
In this regard, at the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO member States, scheduled for November 10, 2020 in video conference format, it is planned to approve the Concept of Cooperation on Development of Remote and Rural Areas in the Digital Age.
 
We also intend to develop an action plan for its implementation.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn international attention to China's impressive achievements in ensuring food security in the country.
 
For example, the level of stocks of rice, wheat and corn in 2019 amounted to 280 million tons, which is a historical record and is enough to provide the entire population of China with food even in case of discontinuation of supplies. 

Certainly the Yangling Agriculture High-Tech Demonstration Zone in Shaanxi Province plays a major role in achieving such impressive results in eliminating rural poverty and ensuring the country's food security.
Therefore, during the last meeting of the SCO Ministers of Agriculture held on October 21, 2020, the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping to establish the SCO Demonstration Base for exchange and training of agricultural technologies, established on the basis of the Yangling Demonstration Zone in Shaanxi Province, was approved.

Undoubtedly, broad multilateral cooperation of the SCO countries within the framework of this demonstration base is a powerful support to further development of modern "smart agriculture", and most importantly - digitalization of agriculture, creation of agro-clusters and agro-parks, introduction of advanced technologies in this area, production of environmental friendly and organic products, rational use of water resources, as well as ensuring food security in the SCO region. 

A lot of work is yet to be done to expand the agricultural markets, including through development of a common regulatory framework, unification of standards in the field of phytosanitary norms and requirements, elimination of excessive customs barriers, creation of a single network of commodity inspections, testing and certification in the SCO countries.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the experience of the SCO members States, firmly and consistently developing cooperation in the "Shanghai spirit", embodying mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultation, respect for diversity of cultures, desire for joint development, allows to successfully realize the untapped huge potential of cooperation in the field of agriculture and food security at regional and global levels. 

I wish to all participants of Forum for productive work and meaningful discussions.

Thank you for your attention.