On April 10, the first meeting of the China-Peru Joint Working Group on Water Resources Cooperation was held via video.

Mr. Zu Leiming, Vice Minister of Water Resources of China and Mr. Orlando Hernán Chirinos Trujillo, Vice Minister of Agricultural Development and Irrigation of Peru, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

Vice Minister Zu Leiming stated that under the guidance of President Xi Jinping’s water governance principles of “prioritizing water conservation, balancing spatial distribution, taking systematic approaches and promoting government-market synergy”, the Ministry of Water Resources of China has promoted high-quality development of water sector andcomprehensively enhanced its capacity to safeguard water security, thus effectively ensuring flood control security, water supply security, food security, and ecological security. Due to global climate change and intensified human activities, China and Peru are facing a common challenge of safeguarding both water security and food security. The Ministry of Water Resources of China stands ready to exchange and share water governance philosophies, practices, and experiences with the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation of Peru, jointly combating challenges posed by global climate change to water and food security, so as to contribute to deepening the China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership and building a China-Latin America community with a shared future.

Vice Minister Trujillo said that in recent years, the Peruvian government has continuously increased investment in improving water use efficiency, optimizing water resource allocation, and building resilient infrastructure, with the aim of ensuring irrigation water supply security and food security. He expressed the willingness of further drawing upon China’s advanced technologies and experience in water infrastructure development and agricultural irrigation, in order to continuously enhance capacity for sustainable utilization of water resources and improve people’s livelihood.

During the meeting, experts and representatives from both countries conducted in-depth exchanges on topics such as water resources development planning, water project construction, and irrigation management.

The Ministry of Water Resources of China and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Peru signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation in 2015 and an Implementation Plan of MOU in 2025, specifying that the two countries will take turns hosting joint working group meetings to enhance experience sharing and technical exchanges.

(Source: INTCE)