From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sun May 03 2009 - 16:23:41 EDT
China expects to strengthen mutual-benefit cooperation with Eritrea:
ambassador
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-04 03:50:32 Print
By Guo Chunju
ASMARA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- China expects to strengthen mutual benefit
cooperation with Eritrea in various sectors, including bilateral trade,
agriculture, health, culture and education fields, Shu Zhan, Chinese
ambassador to Eritrea said here on Sunday.
Shu made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the
upcoming 16th anniversary of the founding of the State of Eritrea, with
which China established relations on the exact day when Eritrea formally
announced independence on May 24, 1993.
"China and Eritrea has developed truly friendship since a long time
ago. There are many exchanges of visits by top officials from both sides
in recent years, with the bilateral ties deepened steadily," the Chinese
envoy said.
He further elaborated on some projects which Chinese companies
undertook in the Eastern African country with the aid from the Chinese
government, including a hospital, a human and social science institute,
as well as two rural primary schools.
Bilateral trade cooperation has been strengthened, with trade volume
reaching 31 million U.S. dollars in 2008, a 7.6 percent year-on-year
increase , according to the statistics from the Chinese Ministry of
Commerce.
Shu also mentioned that bilateral cooperation in the agricultural
sector has been constantly deepened as the Eritrean agricultural
minister and provincial governors made visits to China to learn
experience and technology to develop agriculture in Eritrea.
The two sides also reached intention of cooperation in the fields of
introducing seeds, irrigation technology and human training methods from
China, the Chinese top diplomat added.
He also noted that the bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the
fields of health, culture and education has developed smoothly, as
Eritrea began to send college youth tutors to China for master's degrees
in 2008, and China last year assigned computer and Chinese language
teachers, as well as agriculture and sports volunteers, to work in
Eritrea.
On the economic developments of Eritrea in the past 16 years, Shu
said the small eastern African country, under the leadership of
President Isaias Afwerki, are exerting efforts to maintain political
stability and improve the people's life in the meantime, as well as
develop the telecommunication infrastructure.
More dams and hospitals have been established in Eritrea, and the
anti-malaria and the maternal and infant death rate reducing efforts
have achieved a lot to meet the United Nations Millennium Development
Goals, the Chinese envoy added.
As the current global financial crisis is impacting Eritrea's
economy, especially its reduced foreign remittance, Shu emphasized that
Chinese leaders have clearly pledged that China will continue to
increase aid to Africa, reduce or cancel African countries' debts,
expand its trade and increase investment in Africa, despite the impact
of the global financial crisis on China.
He added that the follow-up measures of the Beijing Summit of the
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006 has been implemented well in
Eritrea.
Eritrea, which currently has the population of about 5 million,
formally announced its independence from Ethiopia in 1993.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/04/content_11306311.htm
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