On October 14, the "2019 Senegal Bamboo and Rattan Utilization Seminar" sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and undertaken by the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan opened in Beijing. Twenty senior officials from Senegal engaged in forestry, agriculture, science and technology, standards, natural resources and environment took part in a 21-day study in Beijing on the topic of bamboo and rattan utilization. The opening ceremony was presided over by Ms. Dong Jie, Deputy Director of the Department of Training of ICBR. Mr. Yin Gangqiang, Deputy Director of ICBR, Lu Wenming, Deputy Director General of INBAR, and Mbaba Kola Ndiaye, Minister Counselor of the Senegalese Embassy in China attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.

Bamboo and rattan are renewable natural resources widely distributed in Africa. They are not only an inseparable part of Africa's natural environment, but also inseparable from the livelihood and culture of local people. Especially in West Africa, bamboo and rattan development prospects are broad. Currently, the INBAR West Africa Office is coordinating the development of the "African Bamboo Farmers' Livelihood Development Project", which will benefit All African bamboo producing countries including Senegal.

During the course of 21 days, the trainees will participate in lectures, case studies, site visits, seminars and other activities. They will go to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province and Anji County, Zhejiang Province to visit the bamboo high-yield forest base and high-tech bamboo products enterprises and have discussions with local governments, entrepreneurs and other representatives from the bamboo and rattan industry, gaining a deeper understanding of the latest developments of bamboo-wood composite materials and the preservation of bamboo and rattan germplasm resources in China.