4th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC concludes in Egypt
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The 4th Ministerial Conference of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC) wrapped up in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, with the adoption of the Declaration of Sharm el-Sheikh and Sharm el-Sheikh Action Plan, defining new programs of cooperation between the two sides in the next three years.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L) and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Abul Gheit present at the end of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Nov. 9, 2009. [Zhang Ning/Xinhua] |
The Declaration of Sharm el-Sheikh, the political document of the conference, sets forth the guiding principles of China-Africa cooperation, reflects the views and consensus of both sides on major international and regional issues and China-Africa relations, and expresses the hope to strengthen China-Africa cooperation under the new circumstances.
The adopted Sharm el-Sheikh Action Plan (2010-2012) puts forward the guidelines, main objectives and specific measures for China-Africa cooperation in priority areas in the next three years.
The two documents have been adopted after many rounds of consultations between the two sides, which reflected the collective wisdom and common vision in developing China-Africa relations, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in the closing ceremony of the 4th Ministerial Conference.
The conference, with the theme of "deepening the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership for sustainable development," reviewed the implementation of the follow-up activities of the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2006 and the 3rd Ministerial Conference.
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Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming speaks at the end of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Nov. 9, 2009. [Zhang Ning/Xinhua] |
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended the opening ceremony of the conference and proposed eight new measures the Chinese government will take to strengthen China-Africa cooperation in the next three years.
"Chinese people cherish the sincere friendship towards the African people, and China's support for Africa's development is concrete and real," said the premier.
"Whatever change may take place in the world, our policy of supporting Africa's economic and social development will not change," Wen said.
According to the eight new measures, China will help Africa build up financing capacity, and will provide 10 billion U.S. dollars in concessional loans to African countries and support Chinese financial institutions in setting up a special loan of 1 billion dollars for small- and medium-sized African businesses.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the 4th Ministerial Conference, with the attendance of heads of state or government from 49 African countries.
During the second day of the conference, delegations of African countries continued with their discussions. The conference also decided to hold the 5th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC in Beijing in 2012.
Representative of Moroccan delegation said that cooperation between China and Africa has been enhanced in the past three years, adding that his country welcomes all the efforts to build up cooperation.
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Foreign ministers from China and African countries present at the end of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Nov. 9, 2009. The Fourth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC closed on Monday. [Zhang Ning/Xinhua] |
"We have attached great importance to agriculture and food security and we have made some achievements which we can share with our African partners," he told the conference, adding "we welcome the measures taken by China to cancel debts of the least developed countries."
The Chinese government is committed to assisting African countries in improving their agricultural production and infrastructure and promoting socioeconomic development through the provision of preferential credit, said Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming.
"Thanks to our concerted efforts, China-Africa cooperation on agriculture and infrastructure has experienced leaps and bounds over the years," Chen told the conference, adding that "such cooperation has diversified in forms, increased in size and moved to high levels."
China will expand cooperation with Africa for building public- service infrastructure such as schools, stadiums and hospitals, said Chen, adding that China would help African countries to improve livelihood, accelerate joint construction of highways, railways, ports, airports and power projects.
Chen said that China will continue to pursue the agenda of "Friendship, Cooperation and Development" with African countries by advancing bilateral trade and commerce and by contributing to agricultural development, food security and infrastructure building in Africa on the basis of mutual benefits and win-win principle.
Meanwhile, Chen proposed four points to promote cooperation in the fields of agriculture, infrastructure and business between China and African countries in the next years.
Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Fayza Aboul Naga, praised the announcement of Premier Wen Jiabao to help Africa, noting the importance of the development of agriculture in Africa to achieve food security and to fight poverty and underdevelopment.
She expressed her country's readiness to contribute to the training of Africans in the areas of agriculture and irrigation.
Aboul Naga also expressed appreciation for China's effort to assist Africa in achieving real development and reducing the gap in technological know-how.
Minister of International Cooperation of Sudan, Dr. al-Tigani Saleh Fedail, called for a focus on achieving the Millennium Development Goals, saying that in order to achieve these goals, there must be a focus on agriculture, food security, technology and knowledge transfer.
He also declared his country's support to the Declaration of Sharm el-Sheikh and the Sharm el-Sheikh Action Plan and willingness to cooperate with the Africans and the Chinese in this regard.
He expressed his country's appreciation for China's humanitarian support to Darfur and China's efforts to help his country.
The representative of South Africa said that the Millennium Development Goals could only be implemented through cooperation between South-South and work on strengthening the agricultural sector to achieve food security and fight poverty.
The FOCAC, a collective consultation and dialogue mechanism between China and African countries launched in 2000, is the first of its kind in the history of Sino-African relationship, which is a major and future-oriented move taken by the two sides in the context of South-South cooperation to seek common development in the new situation.
The previous three ministerial conferences were held in Beijing, Addis Ababa and Beijing respectively.
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