Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday China is ready to work more
closely with Ethiopia to further boost bilateral ties.?
Wen told his Ethiopian counterpart, Meles Zenawi, that efforts
would focus mainly on agriculture, human resources development,
infrastructure building and tourism
"The last decade has ushered in a new stage of all-around
development in bilateral relations, especially since the exchange
of visits by the leaders of two countries,'' Zenawi told the
Chinese Premier who is on the last stop of a four-nation tour which
has taken him to the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Giving a positive appraisal on the fast-growing relationship
between the two countries, Wen said the Chinese Government attaches
great importance to bilateral cooperation.
To this aim, Wen suggested the two sides to maintain high-level
exchanges and increase mutual trust.
Moreover, the two nations should enhance consultations and
cooperation to safeguard the interests of developing countries and
to seek the establishment of international political and economic
patterns, he said.
Reaching a wide range of consensus on bilateral relations and
other issues, both leaders agreed that the establishment of the
China-Africa Cooperation Forum has created a new arena and brought
fresh vitality to Sino-African relations.
Zenawi agreed with Wen, saying Ethiopia is confident with and
ardently hoping for further expansion of bilateral ties and the
implementation of follow-up programs for the China-Africa
forum.
Wen said the founding of the African Union and the
implementation of the New Economic Plan for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) marks a new era in the political and economic integration
of African countries.
Under the framework of the African Union and NEPAD, building a
new infrastructure for African countries has become a hot topic,
said Zenawi, hoping that the China-Africa Cooperation Forum could
play a positive role in this effort.
Wen also expressed gratitude towards the Ethiopian Government's
stance towards the one-China policy as well as the support towards
China in dealing with international affairs such as the human
rights issue.
After their talks, the two prime ministers appeared together
during the signing ceremony of China-Ethiopia agreement on economic
and technological cooperation and two other two bilateral
cooperation documents.
(China Daily December 16, 2003)
