Amina Mohammed (right), cabinet secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and Bai Chunli (left), President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences display the signed document on Dec 13, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. [Image from China Daily]

Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Amina Mohammed, cabinet secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) signed a memorandum of understanding on the future development of the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center (SAJOREC) in Nairobi on Dec 13.

According to the MOU, CAS and MOEST will make the SAJOREC into a platform that carries out cooperation and exchange in agriculture, health care, natural ecosystem and environmental protection, biodiversity protection and sustainable development between China and Kenya.

SAJOREC, which is located at and managed by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, is the first comprehensive research and education infrastructure facility established by China and Africa. CAS will provide technical support for the center.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Bai Chunli said that SAJOREC will continue to deepen cooperation in training scientific and technological innovation talents and provide 150 new scholarships to students from Africa in the next three years.

Bai said research and development centers for modern agriculture and traditional medicine will also be jointly launched by China and Africa to address grain security and public health issues.

Amina said SAJOREC has played an important role in promoting scientific research and technological innovation in her country and she hopes Kenya would promote the integrated development of industry, education and research and build an innovation and entrepreneurship center through academic exchanges and cooperation on training.

SAJOREC has served as an outreach of China in Africa to develop partnerships and projects in various fields with around 20 academic institutions in Kenya and other African countries, such as Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Mauritania. It has also provided 122 scholarships to qualified African students to study masters or PhD degrees in China.

Established in 2013, SAJOREC is one of nine international centers of excellence established by CAS for collaboration in science and capacity building in developing countries.

Source: Xinhua