A senior Tunisian official has said the Beijing Summit of the
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) would be a grand event
with great significance that would help further promote cooperation
between China and Africa in various fields.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Mohamed Nouri Jouini,
Tunisia's Minister of Development and International Cooperation,
said the launch of the FOCAC summit came at a time when many
African countries were making progress in economic fields, adding
impetus to their opening up to the world.
Jouini, also head of the Tunisian delegation, said China
attached great importance to developing relations with African
countries and played an important role in broadening cooperation
with the continent.
The minister hoped Africa and China would establish a more
comprehensive and balanced cooperative relationship and strengthen
cooperation in science and technology, culture and sports.
Jouini visited China in April. He said China was developing very
fast and had experienced dramatic changes, especially in its
economy and urban construction.
He said African countries were heartily glad that China had
become one of the important countries of the world in terms of
economic development. African countries could benefit from China's
development.
Jouini said Tunisia was paying attention to developing
cooperative relations with China in all fields. He said bilateral
relations had been developing continuously since the two nations
established diplomatic ties 40 years ago.
At present, the two countries maintain good relations and
high-level exchanges, and their cooperation in economy and trade is
developing constantly, he added.
Jouini called on Chinese enterprises and companies to invest in
his country and further promote the development of friendly
cooperative relations between Tunisia and China.
The summit, due to be held from Nov. 3-5 and to be attended by
some 30 African heads of state or government, will be the
highest-level and largest-scale meeting between Chinese and African
leaders since China and African countries started to forge
cooperative ties in the 1950s.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2006)
