Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has opened the activities of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Sharm El-Sheikh, 500km from Cairo the capital, in the presence of the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
The heads of State and Government and heads of parliaments of 15 African countries as well as Foreign ministers of 49 member states attended the opening.
President Mubarak stressed in his speech the importance of the Forum to promote and develop joint investments between the two sides in various sectors of production and services.
President Mubarak added that deepening cooperation between China and Africa to achieve sustainable development requires continuous dialogue, consultation and coordination of positions between the two sides to defend the interests of their peoples at international forums and gatherings.
He said the participants in the conference will be keen to come to joint ventures and specific agreements.
Mubarak added that the forum has achieved many successes over the past three years, adding that the trade exchanges between China and Africa is coming closer to the hundred billion dollars a year.
There is a steady increase in the volume of investments and joint ventures with countries of the continent, he said.
Mubarak underlined the seriousness of the challenges facing China and the AU, the most serious crisis of unprecedented rise in global prices of food commodities in 2007 and the current crisis of the global economy, which repercussions continue today.
He stressed the need for concerted efforts between China and Africa to consolidate the concepts of democracy in international relations, and rejection of double standards at both political and economic arenas, as well as to address the marginalization of Africa.
On his part, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said China will provide $10b in soft loans to Africa over the next three years to strengthen the China-Africa cooperation.
The theme of the two-day meeting is “Deepening the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership for sustainable development.”
The meeting will review the implementation of the follow-up activities of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and the 3rd Ministerial Conference.
It will also discuss ways to boost Sino-African cooperation in areas of human resources, agriculture, infrastructure development, investment and trade.
The participants are expected to endorse The Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration and Action Plan .
Source African Press Agency
