United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said Monday that the
international body will support China and Africa for their renewed
commitment to South-South cooperation.?
"The United Nations will support your renewed commitment to
South-South cooperation, and will spare no effort to back any
initiative that may contribute decisively to the reduction of
poverty," Annan said in a message to the ongoing Second Ministerial
Meeting of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, which opened Monday
morning in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.
Annan's message was read on his behalf by UN Under Secretary
General Zephirin Diabre.
Annan said China and Africa can help each other by increasing
cooperation between the two sides.
He said interactions between China and Africa go back many
centuries, when sailing boats crossed the Indian Ocean carrying
goods and fostering cultural exchanges between the two sides.
"In the modern era, China was a consistent supporter of the
African liberation struggle, and African nations were firm friends
of China in the United Nations and other multilateral fora," he
said.
China, he said, through its support to infrastructure
development, health, education, agriculture, commercial exchanges
and many other areas throughout Africa, has remained true to its
commitment to South-South cooperation.
"If the same spirit is brought to meeting other challenges, such
as ensuring food security and fighting HIV/AIDS, China can help
Africa make real steps toward meeting the Millennium Development
Goals," he said.
Africa can help China too, he said, explaining that the emerging
markets of Africa offer huge investment opportunities to the
Chinese private sector.
The vast and rich natural resources of the African soil are in
need of the Chinese technology and know-how, to be exploited and
transformed in a sustainable way, he added.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2003)
