Foreign news
FOCAC at 20 is great, and will be greater in the next 20 years
Editor’s note: Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communication expert, lecturer-scholar at the United States International University-Africa, author, and international affairs columnist. The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
October 10 marks one of the most significant dates in the growing Sino-Africa relations. It is the day 20 years ago that the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established at the first Ministerial Conference held in Beijing.
The FOCAC was formed at a time developing countries were seeking more collaboration through South-South cooperation. Indeed, this partnership has led to a paradigm shift that has seen developing countries becoming more assertive and confident in managing their own affairs.
Although the roots of Sino-Africa relations can be traced way back to the seventh century during the era of the ancient Silk Road, they have solidified in the last four decades as China launched its reform and opening up in earnest. Today, the FOCAC comprises 54 African countries, the African Union Commission, and the People’s Republic of China as partners.
The forum meets every three years. In addition to the 2000 founding event in Beijing and two other meetings held in the Chinese capital city in 2006, other meetings have been held in Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa. The latest event, the 7th FOCAC Ministerial Conference, was held in Beijing in September 2018.
The cooperation extends to areas such as trade, technology, diplomacy, media, agriculture, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. The FOCAC’s spirit of solidarity and cooperation is captured in the colors of its logo. The green color symbolizes peace and development, and the red indicates vitality and prosperity.
Contrary to the naysayers, Sino-Africa relations are mutually beneficial to both sides, and the notion of China pushing its partner to a debt trap is simply a figment of their imagination. It is a symbiotic relationship where China seeks resources for its growing consumption on one hand, and African countries earn funds to develop their infrastructures.
The Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) took stock of the partnership between China and Africa in the preceding 18 years and went further to propose more and wide-ranging areas of cooperation, from economic and political sectors to tourism and environment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC that China will extend $60 billion to Africa in form of grants, loans, and special funds, with Chinese companies encouraged to make at least $10-billion investments in Africa by the end of 2021.
Clearly, those who see China’s exploitation of a hapless continent have deliberately failed to see the transformative nature of the partnership, one that has lived up to its mantra of win-win outcomes.
At a virtual meeting with African heads of state and government in June, President Xi reiterated the strong relationship between the two partners, noting that his country’s support during the coronavirus pandemic had left no doubt of its commitment to making it work.
The FOCAC has become entrenched and now encompasses various sub-forums. These include cooperation in specific areas like youth, health, media, poverty reduction, and development, law, local government, and academia.
So, what do the next 20 years look like for the FOCAC? The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will be a game-changer for Africa’s fortunes. The intra- and inter-continental connectivity that is emerging from this project augurs well for trade and economic growth of the continent.
The BRI is unfolding at the same time with the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In an interview with Chinese news agency Xinhua, Gedion Jalata, a senior advisor to the UNDP South-South Cooperation, noted that China’s support to African countries both through the BRI framework as well as individual projects will boost inter-African economic integration, with China potentially playing the role of key facilitator for the broader goals of AfCFTA.
Basically, the FOCAC has become a global benchmark in multilateralism where all partners are in it for mutual benefit. It is expected that the next FOCAC summit in 2021 will usher in a new era informed by the challenges undergone due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)
Foreign news
Vietnam committed to collaborate with Nigeria on business, investment opportunities – Envoy
Vietnamese Ambassador to Nigeria ,Mr Bui Quoc Hung has revealed that, Vietnamese government is committed to collaborating with Nigeria to explore business and investment opportunities for cooperation and development.
Hung said this at a business forum jointly organised by the Embassy and Nigeria- Vietnam Economic, Trade and Cultural Association ( NVETCA) in Abuja on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the business forum is the maiden edition of the roundtable between Nigeria and Vietnam onexploring business opportunities for cooperation and development .
The envoy said that the business meeting was also to explore business opportunities for cooperation and development amongst others.
According to the envoy, the two countries share the same ideas in terms of economic relations, agriculture, food processing and information technology.
“This meeting is not just about business, it is also about building partnerships that can enhance the economic landscapes of both Vietnam and Nigeria.
“I encourage all to engage openly and explore innovative ideas that can lead to successful collaborations.
“Together, we can create opportunities that will benefit both our communities and strengthen our economies, ” he said.
Speaking, Amb. Sani Bako, Chairman of NVETCA said that the main focus for the meeting was to deliberate on agriculture, food processing, import and export amongst others.
According to him, no country has developed without paying due attention to agriculture.
Bako said the Vietnamese experience in exporting goods to China and US could help Nigeria expand its global reach.
He added that both countries needed to harness their potentials with the view to devise more meaningful and deeper ways to forging mutual and beneficial ways of cooperation.
“Since Nigeria established diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1976, trade has only centered around a few commodities and few sectors in spite of the huge potentials available for trade and economic growth between both countries.
“We want Vietnamese to come and help us develop and grow these business and investment opportunities because there are areas for development that they can compete favourably in Nigeria.
“We also want them to have an Eco telecommunication in the country which will help in job creation,” he said.
Also in his remarks, Gov. Abba Yusuf of Kano state, expressed his administration’s willing to partner with the Vietnamese government to foster trade and commerce.
Yusuf, who was represented by Mr Naziru Halliru, the Director-General, Kano State Investment Agency, said that the state has the population and business acumen to match Vietnamese business cooperation.
( NAN)
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