|
CHINA> Hu Visits Saudi Arabia, Africa
![]() |
|
President Hu starts state visit to Mali
By Li Xing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-02-12 22:59 President Hu Jintao pledged China will work with Mali to deepen collaboration and jointly meet challenges to push for development in both countries. He made the pledge in a written statement after arriving in Bamako, capital of Mali, Thursday.
He will make a two-day state visit to the country from Thursday. The visit is widely believed to significantly push forward China-Mali ties, expand pragmatic cooperation between the two countries and open a new chapter in bilateral friendship. During his visit, he will exchange views with Malian President Amadou Toumany Toure over bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concerns. He will also see the ground opening for building the Bamako No. 3 bridge and unveil the new medical center for treatment of malaria. Both projects were built with Chinese assistance. Mali is the 15th African country he sets his foot since his presidency in 2003. Mali was one of the first African countries to establish official relations with China. For 49 years, China-Mali friendship has remained strong and their cooperation in all fields fruitful, he noted in the statement. According to the Chinese embassy in Mali, bilateral trade has been on an upward curve, touching a record high of $230 million in 2008. While cotton and other agricultural byproducts are shipped from Mali to China, machinery, tea and textiles go in the opposite direction. As the booming bilateral trade benefits both, a number of Chinese enterprises, such as China Overseas Engineering Group Co Ltd, China GEO-Engineering Corporation and China Light Industrial Corporation for Foreign Economic and Technical Cooperation, have entered Mali for contracted projects and joint ventures. The Malian government and its people have also provided support within their means to the Chinese government and the Chinese people. Right after the destructive earthquake that hit southwestern China's Sichuan province in May 2008, President Toure, on behalf of Mali and its people, extended deep condolences to China and made donations to the quake-affected region to help the reconstruction efforts. Prior to President Hu's visit, President Toure said it bears historical significance and will fully exhibit the unbreakable intimate friendship between the two countries, while Dioncounda Traore, president of Mali's National Assembly, said the visit will hugely promote the Mali-China friendship.
|
襄汾县| 平邑县| 眉山市| 九寨沟县| 朝阳市| 大宁县| 内丘县| 佛教| 图木舒克市| 含山县| 濮阳县| 枞阳县| 方山县| 基隆市| 从江县| 阳新县| 辽宁省| 高陵县| 丰顺县| 全椒县| 平谷区| 五华县| 凉城县| 城固县| 濮阳市| 屯留县| 兴文县| 乾安县| 清镇市| 新巴尔虎左旗| 盘山县| 习水县| 广饶县| 舟曲县| 麻城市| 宽城| 鲁山县| 阿合奇县| 博白县| 女性| 东阿县|