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Presidents and prime ministers of the entire African continent are in attendance at the two-day forum
Chinese President Xi Jinping told dignitaries at the opening session of the Third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that he believed working together, the two regions could achieve a win-win scenario for all.
“No one could undermine the great unity between the Chinese people and the African people. No one could hold back the Chinese people or the African people as we march toward rejuvenation,” he said.
“No one could stand in the way or obstruct international efforts to support Africa’s development,” he added.
This year’s forum is hosted in Beijing under the theme “China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation”, and is being attended by leaders of a majority of African nations.
The previous two forums were held in Beijing (2006) and Johannesburg (2018).
Xi outlined his approach to China-Africa cooperation saying that Beijing will offer $60 billion in financing to Africa-centric projects covering areas such as industrial and green development, health care infrastructure, facilitating trade and connectivity, capacity building and increasing people-to-people exchange and interaction.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed what he called the “unique” nature of strategic ties with China.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said that North Africa and China enjoy a healthy trade relationship.
Many African leaders have seized on FOCAC to engage in diplomatic exchanges with their neighbors.
On Monday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi met with Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan. El-Sisi also earlier met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.
A day earlier, El-Sisi attended the signing of several agreements worth over $18 billion with Chinese companies looking to expand their investment portfolio in Egypt.
For his part, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrived with the Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi because Abuja is looking to Beijing to fund a number of transport, railway and energy projects.
Buhari, who will be staying in China after the conclusion of FOCAC on September 4, will also preside over the signing of $328-billion worth of agreements to boost communication technology infrastructure in Nigeria, as well as some 25 MoUs.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
