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July 13, 1999

ON THE OCCASION of the visit of His Excellency Chen Yaobang, Minister of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China, to the Republic of the Philippines on 12 July 1999;

DESIRING to further enhance the existing friendly relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China on the basis of the principles of equality, mutual respect and benefit;

RECALLING the 1978 Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement between the two countries;

RECOGNIZING the importance of agriculture in national development and in the improvement of the standard of living of their citizens;

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS :

1. To undertake collaborative endeavors in agriculture and related fields to propel their respective economies to a new level in the 21st Century;

2. To continue the discussions on and try to officially sign, as early as possible, the Agricultural Cooperation Protocol between the two governments.

The protocol will serve as a framework that shall govern their cooperative relations in agriculture and related fields.
DONE in Manila, Philippines, on this 12th day of July 1999 in the English and Chinese language, both texts being equally authentic.

Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation on Hybrid Rice Technology between the
Republic of the Philippines Department of Agriculture and the People's Republic of China Ministry of Agriculture

Whereas, rice is the most important staple crop of both the Philippines and the People's Republic of China, and both the Philippine and Chinese governments have put food security on top of their respective national political and economic development;

Whereas it is imperative that both countries explore new strategies to increase rice yields per unit through scientific research and technology development;

Whereas, hybrid rice technology has been developed and used on large-scale rice production in China and is also an integral component of the Philippines' rice production program.

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in the spirit of cooperation and friendship, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has agreed to provide seeds of outstanding commercial rice hybrids to the Philippine Department of Agriculture, which will be tested in various ecological zones of the Philippines for evaluation and adaptation purposes.

IN WITNESS HEREOF, the parties have hereunto affixed their signatures on this 13th day of July 1999 at Manila, Republic of the Philippines.