Zhang Lei, a leading Chinese cotton breeding expert, speaks at the workshop in Khartoum, Sudan, on Sept. 23, 2018. Chinese and Sudanese agricultural experts held a workshop on Sunday in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, to promote cotton breeding and seeds production in the African country. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

KHARTOUM, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Sudanese agricultural experts held a workshop on Sunday in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, to promote cotton breeding and seeds production in the African country.

The workshop, jointly organized by the China Aid Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center in Sudan and the General Administration Agricultural Extension and Technology Transfer of Sudan's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, aims to improve breeding technology and increase productivity in Sudan.

Zhang Lei, a leading Chinese cotton breeding expert, stressed at the workshop the importance of scientific research and use of modern technologies in improving cotton cultivation.

Badr-Eddin Al-Sheikh, under-secretary of Sudan's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, commended the cooperation between the Chinese center and Sudan's Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC).

ARC Director-General Abubakr Hussein also expressed his gratitude for the Chinese government and people to support the agricultural and economic sectors in Sudan.

He further thanked the Chinese government for selecting an elite group of experts for making scientific contributions to Sudan's agriculture and conducting the cotton-breeding project for the African country.

In Al-Faw area in Sudan's Al Qadarif State, 260 km southeast of the capital Khartoum, the Chinese center has successfully introduced a new type of cotton seeds with high quality from China, which has significantly increased the cotton yields.