Towards a greener, more prosperous, and healthier future together: A Symposium following the 8th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset of this important event, allow me first, on behalf of the African Ambassadors Group, to express sincere words of appreciation and congratulations to the Ambassador of Ethiopia for hosting our historical symposium in our second house indeed and the UN Resident Coordinator for full and strong technical support.

The same words also extend to the African Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MOFCOM, other relevant Chinese and UN institutions and all African Ambassadors accredited to China.

Despite the surrounding challenges of COVID-19, our event is a great achievement for China-Africa relations and a clear demonstration of our strong commitment to continue advancing our existing relations to the highest possible levels in different fields of cooperation.

The previous FOCAC meetings, conferences and summits were to the best of our satisfaction despite the existence of some common challenges which we believe could pave the way for better cooperation after addressing them timely and accordingly.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

The entire world of today is facing serious challenges related to COVID-19, economic constraints, poverty, security, terrorism, climate change and many others. However, China and Africa have proven to the world our resilience, commitments, seriousness, and success in facing these challenges. Therefore, I would like to reiterate our full support and commitment to FOCAC, the One-China policy and to continue working closely with the Government of China and other partners for the best benefit of China-Africa relations and the interest of our Governments and People.

Africa is one of the richest continents in terms of natural resources, tourism, cultural exchanges, and investment opportunities. This qualifies Africa to be one of the best destinations for foreign investments and businesses.

Concerning trade, we noticed with great concern the fact that the trade balance between Africa and China is not encouraging despite the existence of our cordial and excellent bilateral relations. We are committed to addressing and ratifying this aspect as soon as possible by implementing new approaches, signing bilateral trade agreements, and accessing Chinese markets.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is our sincere wish that China and Africa could open a new page in addressing issues related to women and youth empowerment. Therefore, we are proposing the establishment of independent China-Africa women and youth platforms under the umbrella of FOCAC.

The 2063 Agenda and overall objectives of FOCAC are key drivers for African development and solid foundations for sustainable China-Africa relations. Therefore, strong commitments and practical plans plus review and monitoring mechanisms from both China and Africa are necessary and timely needed.

Cross-border logistics and e-commerce are becoming a focus of many African Governments. China’s experience in this field and its support in setting up e-commerce hubs and systems in African countries will be appreciated.

Healthcare systems in some African countries have been ranked amongst the worst in the world due to inconsistent investment in the health sector not only by African governments but also by development partners. Therefore, we urgently need continued and expanded finance plus technical support from our Chinese partners. This will also include the areas such as local manufacturing of vaccines for COVID-19, other medicines and equipment. We also urgently seek any necessary support from China to create similar partnerships across the continent for local production, in coordination with the Africa CDC for regional medical production hubs.

There is no doubt that the agricultural potentials in Africa can’t be compared to any other continent in the world with huge and unlimited areas of cooperation and investment potentials. However, agricultural modernization, manufacturing, storage, and transportation remain agricultural priorities areas for African countries. We seek support from China and partnership to increase investment and capacity building in agricultural processing, packaging, storage, quality control etc. This will help to improve product quality, facilitate the export of local agricultural products, reduce the imports of processed agricultural products and also increase high-value exports of processed agricultural goods.

In Africa, SMEs employ around 60% of the workforce in the formal sectors. Yet SMEs are struggling to access the finances needed to develop their business and investment activities. Therefore, we urge China to continue doubling its efforts in financing African SMEs and consider our future plans for business partnerships.

Finally, and according to the Dakar theme: “Deepen China-Africa partnership and promote sustainable development to build a China-Africa Community with a shared Future in the New Era, I believe that the greatest challenge of the African continent in terms of development is the poor infrastructure. Today, there is no interconnection between African countries, even for a businessman who wants to travel from one country to another; he must go through a third country like Dubai, Doha, Istanbul or Europe. Interconnectivity is a key issue in Africa. The key to development initially involves the establishment of a regional integration process in order to enhance interstate cooperation. Africa is divided into five regions: It must integrate itself for the development of infrastructures such as railways and highways. It is a key driver that will facilitate the transport of people and goods as well as the exploitation of mining and agricultural resources and will reduce poverty. Railways play a major role in integrating markets and increasing trade among African countries. It is the lifeline of an economy for large scale movement of traffic, freight, and passengers. This is what will allow the development of the continent and fight against the trafficking of goods. To conclude, pooling the investments of the development of railways and highways is essential in Africa.

In conclusion, we are committed to FOCAC and our relations with China, and I sincerely wish this symposium great success.

Thank you.