China sends principal delegation to Tanzania

By The guardian reporter

The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries has organised a 71-member delegation to visit the country and attend the China-Tanzania Governors and Mayors Dialogue slated for November 25 in Dar es Salaam.

The delegation will visit the country at the invitation of the Minister of State Prime Minister's Office-Regional Administrative and Local Government Hawa Ghasia.

According to a statement availed to The Guardian mid this week, the main delegates include vice governors of three major provinces and six mayors of China.

The statement said the 71-member Chinese delegation consists of local government officials and entrepreneurs from China’s four provinces and six cities including vice governors of Shandong Province, Shaanxi Province and Liaoning Province and six mayors.
“This is the first time for China to organise such a large-scale and high-level joint delegation of local government officials to visit Tanzania,” the statement read.

The three provinces are relatively economically developed in China, possessing advanced technology and experience in agricultural production and processing, infrastructure construction, equipment manufacturing and other fields.

The statement during the Dialogue, Chinese delegates will carry out extensive exchanges with their counterparts of Tanzania in promoting bilateral practical cooperation of local governments in economy and trade and other areas.

In order to further the exchanges between Chinese and African local governments, the CPAFFC successfully held the 1st Forum on China-Africa Local Government Cooperation in August, 2012 in Beijing, which is highly recognised by the Chinese government.

Over the past year, China and African countries held a series of bilateral and multilateral dialogues of governors and mayors, playing an active role in promoting the practical cooperation between Chinese and African local governments.

The statement said the upcoming China-Tanzania Governors and Mayors Dialogue is also one of the follow-up actions of the Forum.

China and Tanzania are all-weathered friends and enjoy a profound traditional friendship. In recent years, the local government exchanges between the two countries have made considerable progress.

Currently, there are three pairs of friendship cities between China and Tanzania. In August last year, Minister Ghasia, and several other Tanzanian local government officials and entrepreneurs visited Beijing to attend the 1st Forum on China-Africa Local Government Cooperation.

In September this year, six Tanzanian mayors and several principal officials from various cities and municipalities jointly visited China to make a study of China’s urban planning and management.

Also thanks to CPAFFC, Tanzanian Ambassadors to China visited several Chinese provinces and cities to give presentations of Tanzania, introducing Tanzanian investment policies and other information about the country to Chinese local officials and businessmen.

Before visiting to Tanzania, the Chinese delegation will attend the Dialogue for Governors and Mayors between China and EAC in Uganda.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN