Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated the African Union (AU) on its recent 37th summit held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, between 17 and 18 February.
The summit had as its theme, ‘Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa.’
It was an occasion that equally saw to the passing of the baton of leadership from outgoing Chair, Azali Assoumani, the President of the Union of Comoros, following the election of Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, as the new chairperson of Uniounion for 2024.
In the Chinese president’s message to the gathering at that auspicious occasion, highlights of which were shared with PREMIUM TIMES by Chinese embassy in Nigeria on Tuesday, he pointed out that the world was undergoing profound changes, the type of which had not been seen in a century.
He added that the emergent relationship within the Global South, comprising nations of Africa and China, was booming, with this having a profound impact on the course of world history.
This, to him, is both salutary and a cause for optimism, going forward.
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He also used the opportunity of the event to laud the AU for bringing African countries together to seek strength through unity, and promote integration, as well as the building of free trade areas.
For President Xi Jinping, the AU’s successful accession to the G20 has further enhanced Africa’s representation and lifted its voice in global governance, and China extended its heartfelt congratulations to the regional body on that major milestone attained.
The Chinese president stressed that over the past year, China-Africa relations have grown deeper. As the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue was successfully held, the two sides decided to support each other in exploring their modernisation pathways and jointly create a favourable environment for the realisation of their development visions.
He then pointed out that the new session of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is going to be held in 2024, as a way of deepening the collective consultation, dialogue and the mechanism of cooperation established among developing countries, which has been mutually beneficial and strengthening since it started in the early 2000s.
President Xi noted that he stands ready to work with leaders of African countries to draw up a new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation and promote the joint building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, in a manner that will focus on benefits to people from both sides.
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