Wang Zhigang, Secretary of the CPC Leading Group and Vice Minister of MOST, paid a visit to the S. Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical University (KazATU) and held talks with its Rector Akhylbek Kurishbayev on the sidelines of the 8th China-Kazakhstan Joint Committee Meeting on Cooperation in Science and Technology held in Kazakhstan.
Professor Kurishbayev spoke highly of the positive role MOST has played in propelling China-Kazakhstan pragmatic cooperation in science and technology. He was pleased to introduce that with the support of MOST, KazATU has launched fruitful cooperation; implemented a number of collaborative projects on ecological protection, agricultural breeding and water-saving irrigation; joined partners in building up cooperation platforms including the Kazakh-Chinese center of agricultural mechanization and a biosafety laboratory. Its partners include various Chinese universities and research institutions such as the Xinjiang Agricultural University, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, and Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It also joined the Silkroad Innovation Alliance for Agri-education & Research initiated by the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University of China.
Wang stressed that China-Kazakhstan scientific and technological cooperation could be described as the part and parcel of bilateral cooperation. The exchanges and cooperation in agricultural science and technology have delivered mutual benefits. In recent years, KazATU, together with related Chinese universities and institutions, has implemented a series of projects which has great significance for the deepening of cooperation in agricultural science and technology between China and Kazakhstan and plays an important role in promoting all-round cooperation between the two countries. MOST will, on the basis of existing cooperation, support universities such as the KazATU, research institutes of Kazakhstan and relevant Chinese bodies to further cooperation, develop long-term platforms such as joint laboratories and R&D centers, and make joint efforts to promote the commercialization of R&D achievements.
After the talks, accompanied by the Rector, Wang visited the biotech center of the university, the Kazakhstan-China center of agricultural mechanization, and processing center of meat and dairy products. He visited classrooms and listened to lectures. He talked with Chinese students studying there. He encouraged them to study hard, learn professional skills, make friends, and deepen friendship of young students between China and Kazakhstan.
As an institution of higher education of agriculture and technology located in the central and northern part of Kazakhstan, KazATU is one of the oldest universities in Astana, founded in 1957 and was listed as one of the three key agricultural universities directly affiliated to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture in 2015.
