Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President Bai Chunli met a delegation headed by Ibrahim Thiaw, deputy executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in Beijing on August 22. The two sides discussed measures to enhance inter-institutional collaboration.

Bai appreciated the UNEP’s appointment of a CAS expert as its chief scientist, saying he hoped to see more of China’s top research and management talents, especially those from CAS, get involved in various missions at the UNEP.

The UNEP has an excellent international platform, and the two sides may use it to work together for a better presentation of CAS’s work, he noted.

The UNEP-International Ecosystem Management Partnership established by the two sides is a good demonstration of bilateral cooperation, said Bai, who proposed that more pragmatic science and technology missions should be carried out to contribute to the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Thiaw thanked CAS for its long-term support for the UNEP’s work. He sees positive progress in bilateral cooperation and expressed the hope that CAS will continue to render full support to the UNEP in the future.