A senior Syrian official underlined on Sunday the importance of cooperation with China, especially in the fields of agriculture and food security.

Talking to Xinhua on the sidelines of a joint Afro-Arab ministerial meeting, Nabi Rasheed, an aide to the Syrian minister of agriculture, said his country pays much attention to cooperation with China on agriculture and food security and looks forward to more joint projects in this regard.

"Syria and China cooperate with each other in the long term through the exchange of delegations and training programs. A high- level Chinese delegation led by the agriculture minister has visited us recently, when we discussed opportunities and means to boost agricultural cooperation. Syria will also take part in the 2010 Shanghai EXPO," the Syrian official said.

Rasheed who headed his country's delegation to the Joint Afro- Arab Ministerial Meeting on Agricultural Development and Food Security which kicked off on Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, said the current meeting has attached greater importance due to the drought which haunts many Arab and African countries and the global financial crisis.

The recent food crisis caused the prices of many food stuff to ratchet up and the global financial crisis forced many countries to cut funds allocated to agricultural development, said the official.

"I hope the meeting will lay a concrete foundation stone for cooperation between Arab and African states at this vital stage," he said.

The Syrian official added that the meetings aim to establish a common Arab-African strategy on agriculture and food security, pointing out that there is a plan to set up a follow-up, steering and coordination body along with a special fund to support the implementation of decisions to be sanctioned by the ministers.

Rasheed added that his country has already taken tangible steps on food security, "Syria has successfully made food security years ago thanks to governmental policies and its support for the agricultural sector."

"We have achieved this goal," he said, yet adding his country still faces challenges due to the recent drought which is the worst in 50 years.

(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2010)