By Adama K. Jallow
The 2018 Beijing summit dubbed ‘Forum On China-Africa Cooperation’ (FOCAC) is set to be held from the 3rd to 4th September 2018 themed “China and Africa: Toward an even stronger community with a shared future through win-win co-operation”.
The summit moves towards turning a new chapter for China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperation and bringing their cooperation to a new high.
Revealing the forthcoming summit at a ceremony held at the Chinese Embassy in Bijilo, the Chinese Ambassador to The Gambia, His Excellency Zhang Jiming said the forum would be chaired by His Excellency, President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China and also host relevant events.
Ambassador Jiming said that leaders of the FOCAC African members are invited to attend the summit and representatives of relevant regional organizations in Africa and international organizations will also participate in related activities.
He said that over the past 18 years since its inception, remarkable achievements have been made in political, economic and people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa, especially after the FOCAC Johannesburg summit in 2015.
He noted that the FOCAC Summit has evolved into a major platform for China-Africa cooperation, giving an example of South-South cooperation and a leading player in international cooperation with Africa.
Ambassador Jiming further mentioned that at the FOCAC summit, Chinese and African leaders will have in-depth dialogues, set down strategic guidelines for the development of China-Africa relations, demonstrate the strong dynamism of China-Africa solidarity and cooperation and the determination to build an even stronger community with a shared future through win-win cooperation.
According to him, the summit will usher in a new era for greater synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and AU Agenda 2063, the UN 2030 Agenda on sustainable development strategies of African countries.
He also used the opportunity to reveal that the summit will review and adopt the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Action Plan which will lay out new approaches and deliverables of enhancing win-win cooperation between the two sides and will specify plans for China-Africa cooperation across the board in the next three years and beyond.
