Dr. Yu Zhigang, President of the Ocean University of China (OUC) and Mr. Fred Mitchell, Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ocean University of China and the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute Limited on January 1, 2015, following the talk on cooperation in education and research between the delegation of OUC and the delegation of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Mr. Perry Gladstone Christie, Right Honorable Prime Minister of the Bahamas was also present at the signing ceremony, and he expressed his delight in the establishment of cooperative ties between OUC and BAMSI and hoped that the cooperation would benefit the institute in promoting its rapid development. He said that apart from education, BAMSI, which is part of the strategy of the Bahamian government to promote education on agriculture and marine science, should emphasize carrying out research in technology related to agricultural and aquatic products, the application of research results, and marine science.

During the talk, Right Honorable Prime Minister Christie explained that he attended the first ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in hopes of cementing exchanges in marine research with China. According to the Prime Minister, the Bahamas import grains worth one billion dollars every year. With comparatively less developed agricultural technology and low added value in the development of agricultural products and marine resources, the Bahamian government gives top priority to food production and food security.

President Yu gave a brief overview of OUC, its achievements in oceanography and fisheries, and cooperation with well-known universities and marine-related institutes in the United States, Germany, and other countries. He said that OUC was very enthusiastic about cooperation in education with the island country. He hoped that the two sides would take the opportunity of the signing of Memorandum to boost the practical cooperation with the Bahamian education and research institutions. He also hoped that the two countries would respond to the initiative of the leaders by strengthening the cooperation in agriculture and fisheries and expanding the exchanges in education. This, he hoped, would contribute to strengthening and deepening the friendly relations between China and the Bahamas.

In addition, President Yu proposed the concrete suggestions of cooperation in education and research and advocated the cooperation in education of professionals and research in the field of oceanography, fisheries, and food processing. He mentioned that an OUC affiliated company is engaged in converting green algae to fertilizers, which can be used for improving the soil. He also told the Bahamian delegation that both sides can also find a niche for collaboration in the research and development of marine pharmaceuticals and its industrialization, which will surely have a promising future, adding that all these are the fields on which the two sides can cooperate to benefit the local people.

With different geographic locations, the two sides share great potential in cooperation on the research into global changes, biodiversity, and protection of marine ecology, he remarked.

“We are ready to send our faculty members to the Bahamas for education and research. Meanwhile we also welcome faculty and students from the Bahamas to OUC,” President Yu continued, encouraging the students in the Bahamas to apply for the Ocean Scholarship funded by the Chinese government to study in China.

In response to the remarks of President Yu, Right Honorable Prime Minister Christie said that the Andros， the largest island in the Bahamas, where BAMSI and AUTEC are located, has a population of 10,000 and a coastline of over 100 miles. It boasts rich fisheries and marine resources as well as marine life resources, such as bonefish, saying that the “blue holes” may have great research value. The overfishing of sponges and fish poses a challenge to the island.

He hoped that the Bahamas can conduct their own research in the marine science and the exploitation of marine resources, and he is looking forward to boosting the cooperation between the two sides.

The signing ceremony was also attended Mr. Yuan Guisen, Chinese ambassador to the Bahamas, Mr. Zhou Xing, a division chief under Foreign Ministry Latin-American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China, as well as representatives from the International Office and the New Center of OUC.