Officials and representatives from Africa look forward to discussing many topics at this year’s Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and promoting trade with China, the Global Times has learned.
The 2024 Summit of FOCAC will be held in Beijing from September 4 to 6, with the theme of “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday.
“Madagascar was among the first signatories of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We will have a big meeting between Africa and China (FOCAC) in September, where we will discuss many things, including those within the BRI framework,” Jean Louis Robinson, Madagascar’s Ambassador to China, told the Global Times.
Robinson said that as Madagascar is an island country, “we will try to be involved in China’s Maritime Silk Road, linking China and Madagascar, through which we will improve ports in Madagascar and improve trade with China.”
Through the BRI, cities like Kunming [in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province] can drive the development of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, while having a ripple effect on Madagascar and countries in Africa through the Indian Ocean, said Robinson, who attended the just-concluded China-South Asia Expo in Yunnan’s Kunming.
“Cooperation between Africa and China or Nigeria and China is basically on a very good platform. The BRI has opened a good gateway for business between Nigeria and China. All we need to do now is to cooperate further. But there is still a need for us to talk to each other,” Hassan Mohammed, a deputy trade commissioner of the Nigerian consulate in Shanghai, told the Global Times.