High-ranking representatives of the African Union (AU) have commended China for its significant contribution to the development of Africa.
The union’s infrastructure and energy Commissioner Amani Abou-Zeid noted that China is a major partner in achieving development in Africa through the construction of projects such as roads, ports, railways, industrial parks, and dams, among other initiatives that have changed the face of Africa and spurred the continent’s growth.
“When you visit all African countries, you will see several large projects built or even funded by China. These projects are located in all key sectors such as health, agriculture and education. Several educational institutions have modern Chinese-built research libraries or laboratories.”
“Other countries have large state-of-the-art hospitals whose construction was funded by corporations or the Chinese government. All these demonstrate China’s efforts to transform Africa for the benefit of all its people.” The AU envoy said
During the African Union ministerial meeting held last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, China – the world’s second-largest power, was recognized and commended for numerous efforts to help Africa’s economic rejuvenation.
Convened for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic shook up the world, the ministerial meeting held deliberations with dialogue on how Africa can build strong systems and accelerate social and economic development through various projects taking center stage. During the discussions, China came out as one of the major countries that can help Africa to realize this dream.
“We are working with many countries to make progress in various sectors. China is one of our biggest partners in building infrastructure. I know that it is only through such development and access to energy that Africa will develop,” said Commissioner Abou-Zeid.
In addition to collaborating with individuals on civic uplifting projects, Chinese institutions and the central government are working closely with the African Union to achieve the AU’s 50-year vision by 2063 popular as “Agenda 2063”. This vision aims to build a peaceful and prosperous Africa built by Africans.
“As commissioners of the African Union, we are grateful for the systems and policies that China has put in place so as to work with us on projects aligned with our 2063 vision,” Abou-Zeid noted.
Africa is also partnering with China to expand the use of technology, improve education and research and to jointly help build independent nations. This can be demonstrated by the completion of some research centres such as Luban Laboratories operated by African institutions in collaboration with China’s Tianjin Institute.
“We do a lot of things in the fields of education, research, innovation and technology in partnership with China.”
“We have been able to bring China and Africa together and through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), we have implemented and are continuing to implement the biggest projects in the continent,” said Hambani Masheleni, acting head of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation at the African Union.
Statistics from the China-Africa Research Institute show that Angola, Ethiopia, Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria are some of the African countries that work closely with China especially to invest in infrastructure construction.
In 2016, Africa signed a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with China for infrastructure construction.
KBC
