On the afternoon of March 1, 2024, WPA (GPO) held a working meeting at its headquarters in Shanghai, China. It was attended by Executive Director Nicos Ioannou (Cyprus), Zhang Guoqing, Director of International Cooperation Division, Lin Weimin, Director of Project Management Division, Chen Jianmin, Deputy Director of General Administration Division, Li Ji, Deputy Director of International Cooperation Division, Dong Shiping, Director of Security Office of General Administration Division, Psscal (Cyprus) and Iakovos Nicolaou (Cyprus) from International Cooperation Division. The meeting, hosted by Secretary-General Zhang Qi, focused on extensive preparations for the 3rd Global Peasant Forum in Cyprus later this year and the exploration of new opportunities for international cooperation.

At the beginning of the meeting, Nicos stressed the importance of the 3rd Global Peasant Forum. He stated that, as a grand global gathering in the agricultural field, the forum is not only a platform to display the latest agricultural development and international cooperation, but also an opportunity to promote in-depth international exchanges.

To ensure a successful forum, the organizing committee thoroughly discussed key issues such as the number of participants, venue layout, transportation and accommodation, and forum agenda. Meanwhile, they also reached a consensus on inviting Cypriot government officials and business representatives to the forum and planned to arrange visits to Cyprus for Chinese entrepreneurs to investigate investment projects during the forum.

Another critical issue of the meeting was to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between China and Cyprus. As Cypriot wines received positive feedback from the Chinese market, the two sides intended to export more Cypriot advantageous agricultural products to China to meet the growing market demands and improve Cypriot peasants’ income.

In addition to agricultural cooperation, the meeting aggressively addressed the possibilities for China and Cyprus to collaborate in tourism and energy sectors. The two sides believed that by working on tourism routes and boosting cultural exchanges, Cyprus might attract more Chinese visitors to experience its unique artistic charm and natural beauty. Cyprus is rich in natural gas and has a good future for collaboration in this field. It is believed that research and initiatives would address the challenges of  developing natural gas in Cyprus, produce mutual benefit and win-win progress, and give new impetus to the global energy market.

The working meeting not only laid a solid foundation for the upcoming 3rd Global Peasant Forum, but also provided guidelines for WPA’s international cooperation, presenting China's influence in global agriculture. In the future, WPA will continue to uphold the concept of openness, cooperation, and mutual benefits and move forward hand in hand with the world to promote global agricultural growth, thus contributing wisdom and energy to constructing a community with a shared future for humanity.