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ADDIS ABABA. — The upcoming Beijing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is expected to focus on agricultural transformation, industrial development, infrastructure development and science and technology, an Ethiopian official said on Saturday.
Speaking exclusively to Xinhua, Admasu Nebebe, Deputy Minister of the Ethiopia Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MoFEC), said the FOCAC summit is expected to see discussions on how China and African countries can strengthen their cooperation especially in these four key sectors.
“African countries need to transform their agricultural sector, engage in vigorous industrial development, invest in their infrastructure and put resources to develop their science and technology if they are to successfully develop their economies like China,” said Nebebe.
Nebebe further said China-Africa and in particular China-Ethiopia relationship combines elements of hard infrastructure and knowledge-based partnership, with close to 6,000 Ethiopians receiving education in China over the last several years and hundreds more Ethiopians preparing to attend higher learning programs in China.
The FOCAC Beijing summit, scheduled for Sept. 3-4, will run under the theme, “China and Africa: toward an even stronger community with a shared future through win-win cooperation.”
Nebebe said the summit would be a historic event of grand family gathering between China and African countries, three years after the last FOCAC summit was held in November 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa. – Xinhua
Online Reporter