In early April, a delegation from the National Bureau of Mines and Strategic Industries‌‌ of Madagascar visited the SIO, and both sides convened the Symposium on Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Continental Margin of Madagascar.

Director Fang Yinxia extended a warm welcome to the delegation from Madagascar and reviewed the long-standing cooperation history between the SIO and the National Bureau of Mines and Strategic Industries‌‌ of Madagascar. Since 2018, there have been numerous mutual visits between the SIO and the Madagascar side. We have jointly organized the China-Madagascar Continental Margins Symposium, and conducted technical training and personnel exchanges and visits. In 2021, we launched the China-Madagascar international cooperative voyage, and in 2024, we established the China-Madagascar Continental Shelf Joint Laboratory, marking the substantiation and deepening of cooperation between China and Madagascar in the field of continental shelves.

At the symposium, Deputy Director Zafiry of the National Bureau of Mines and Strategic Industries‌‌ of Madagascar expressed gratitude for the support of the SIO for the technological development of continental shelf delimitation in Madagascar. The continental shelf delimitation team of the SIO provided a detailed introduction to the research achievements of the China-Madagascar international cooperative voyage and the progress in the tectonic evolution of the Madagascar Plateau. Both sides conducted extensive exchanges on topics such as continental shelf delimitation in Madagascar, tectonic evolution in Madagascar, and data processing of the China-Madagascar international cooperative voyage, and proposed the next plan for the China-Madagascar Continental Shelf Joint Laboratory.

This symposium further deepened the institute-level cooperation agreement signed between the SIO and the Madagascar side. It also represented the international cooperation and exchange on continental shelves since the establishment of the China-Madagascar Continental Shelf Joint Laboratory and the National Key Laboratory of Submarine Science and Continental Shelf Delimitation, adding new highlights to the cooperation in marine science and technology between China and Madagascar.