JK starts 9-day Asia tour

He will also hold talks with Chinese Doctors who have worked in Tanzania for the past half a century.

PHOTO|FILE 

By The Citizen Correspondent

IN SUMMARY

From Beijing the President will fly to Jinan province where a special military showcase from servicemen of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been prepared for him. That will be the first time for PLA to perform for a head of foreign state.

Beijing. President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete embarked on a nine-day tour of the Asian region, the first leg of which he will be in China for bilateral talks.

In the six-day tour of China, President Kikwete will oversee signing of development partnerships and take part in celebrations marking 50 years of Sino-Tanzania diplomatic cooperation.

The President kicked off the tour yesterday after a special invitation by his Chinese counterpart, according to a statement from the State House. This is the second China tour for Kikwete during his presidency. The first was back in 2008 then as the chairman of African Union (AU) representing the continent in the first Sino-Africa conference.

From China he is expected to head to Vietnam for a three-day official tour following an invitation from the country’s president.

In Beijing, the President is scheduled to hold talks with his host President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Speaker of the Chinese parliament Zhang Dejiang. He will also witness the signing ceremony of development projects between the two countries and hold talks with heads of financial institutions financing Chinese development projects in Tanzania, including China-Africa Development Fund (CADB) and China Development Bank (CDB).

President Kikwete is scheduled to meet with African ambassadors in China and open the third Sino-Tanzania business and investment conference. He will also be the guest of honour at a state celebration to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. China and Tanzania started diplomatic relationship in April 26, 2014 the day the United Republic of Tanzania came into being after the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

He will end his tour of the Chinese capital city by receiving honorary Doctorate from China Agricultural University and East China Normal University.

From Beijing the President will fly to Jinan province where a special military showcase from servicemen of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been prepared for him. That will be the first time for PLA to perform for a head of foreign state.

He will also hold talks with Chinese Doctors who have worked in Tanzania for the past half a century.

From Jinan the President will wind up his visit to the country by a tour to Shengzen province. The region is where majority of Tanzanians buy commodities and trade them back home. In the province the president the headquarters of Chinese big economic firms and telecommunication giants like Shenzhen Economic Zones Authority, China Merchants Holdings International (CMHI), Huawei and ZTE
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