NAIROBI, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is set to host the 2025 Africa International Agricultural Expo (AIAE) in October, aiming to strengthen Sino-African cooperation in agricultural trade and investment, organizers announced during a media briefing on Tuesday.
The conference, set for Oct. 28-31, is jointly organized by Hunan Hongxing International Exhibition and Agri-Africa Exhibition, with the support of Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. It will be held under the theme "Increasing Agricultural Productivity in Africa Through Innovation and Market Access."
Paul Kipronoh Ronoh, principal secretary in Kenya's State Department for Agriculture, told reporters that the exhibition will provide a platform for African stakeholders to interact with cutting-edge technologies from China and the rest of the world required to modernize the continent's food sector.
"The 2025 expo is an unmatched springboard for innovation, knowledge sharing, and market connections as exhibitors showcase breakthroughs in water harvesting, precision irrigation, post-harvest management, agri-finance, and value addition for a climate-resilient future," Ronoh said.
According to Ronoh, more than 15,000 visitors are expected to participate in the expo to learn about the latest innovations key to boosting Africa's productive sector.
Ding Guiping, deputy general manager of Hunan Hongxing International Exhibition, said this year's expo will attract participation from 17 countries and about 200 exhibitors, including 100 Chinese companies.
"The exhibition will feature dedicated zones for agricultural technology, machinery and equipment, production inputs, veterinary medicine, agricultural product processing, as well as cross-border e-commerce," Ding added.
Tito Mutai, chief executive officer of Agri-Africa Exhibition, stressed the significance of the event for the African continent, as the region has the largest share of the world's uncultivated arable land yet remains a net food importer.
Mutai observed that this event is critical for the continent because it provides an avenue for the agricultural sector to benefit from technology transfer from China's advanced agricultural sector.
Demeke Atnafu, deputy head of mission at the Ethiopian Embassy in Kenya, said his country is keen to participate in the exhibition because it provides a forum to create market linkages for its key export products within the African and Chinese markets.
