ICS-CAAS Signs Joint Breeding and Data Sharing Agreement for the China–Uruguay Joint Soybean Laboratory

On February 4, the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS), and Uruguay’s National Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) signed an agreement on joint soybean breeding and data sharing in Beijing. Ren Yulong, Deputy Director General of ICS-CAAS, and Miguel Sierra, President of INIA, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective institutions. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mario Lubetkin, Uruguay’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; Alfredo Fratti, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries; Lucía Rodríguez, Uruguay’s Ambassador to China; and representatives of the China–Uruguay Belt and Road Joint Laboratory for Soybean Research and Innovation at ICS-CAAS.

The agreement sets out detailed arrangements for cooperation in germplasm exchange, the development of new varieties, and data sharing. It will help strengthen the joint laboratory and deepen collaborative innovation in soybean science and technology between the two countries.

Shortly before the signing, the science and technology authorities of the two countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the National Secretariat for Science and Knowledge Valorization of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay on Strengthening Cooperation in the China–Uruguay Joint Soybean Laboratory, witnessed by the two heads of state. The memorandum calls for a clearer focus in bilateral soybean science and technology cooperation and for advancing the development of the joint laboratory into a new phase.

Since China’s Ministry of Science and Technology approved preparations for the joint laboratory in 2021, ICS-CAAS, as the lead institution on the Chinese side, has worked closely with INIA on substantive cooperation in key areas including germplasm characterization, germplasm innovation, and biotechnology-based breeding, steadily translating collaboration into tangible results.