Gabonese President Bongo Meets with Yang Jiechi

 

 

 

 

Gabonese President Bongo Meets with Yang Jiechi

 

 

BEIJING, China, February 15, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On February 12, 2011, Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Libreville, the capital of Gabon.

Gabon said China is a trustworthy friend of Africa and Gabon. China has long offered firm support to Africa and tangible help to Gabon. Gabon highly values its traditional friendship with China, adheres to the one-China policy and supports China’s reunification, the Gabonese president said. Gabon believes China’s development will bring major opportunities to Gabon and there is great potential for trade and economic cooperation between the two sides, he said. The Gabonese side welcomes more investment from Chinese companies. Gabon is implementing its development program of Green Gabon, Service Gabon, and Industrial Gabon, which provides new opportunities for both countries to expand mutually beneficial cooperation. The president also expressed the hope that Gabon could strengthen cooperation with China in such fields as infrastructure construction and power grid upgrade. The Gabonese side appreciates China’s important influence in international and regional affairs and hopes to enhance cooperation with China on international and regional issues including the reform of the UN Security Council and coping with climate change.

Yang, for his part, congratulated on the new achievements Gabon has made in its economic and social development under the leadership of President Bongo as well as on its positive influence in regional and international affairs. He said the two countries share a profound traditional friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 37 years ago, the friendship that the leaders of the two countries jointly forged and developed has withstood the tests of the time and fluctuating international situation. China-Gabon relationship is good enough to serve as a model for China-Africa relations and South-South cooperation. Yang spoke highly of the development of Gabon-China relations, citing frequent high-level exchanges, increasing bilateral trade and enhanced cultural exchanges. China is ready to work with Gabon in earnestly implementing the important consensus on deepening bilateral ties that President Bongo reached with President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo last year. He urged the two countries to keep the current momentum of high-level contact, strengthen political mutual trust, and enhance mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns. The two sides should also intensify cooperation in trade, economy, infrastructure construction, education, culture and health, and strengthen coordination in major regional and global affairs, said Yang.

On the same day, Yang held talks with his Gabonese counterpart Paul Toungui. They agreed to keep closer friendly exchanges, consolidate political trust, tap cooperation potential, expand economic and trade cooperation, increase humanities contacts and deepen mutual understanding. Both sides also pledged to make use of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as an important platform of collective dialogue and effective mechanism of pragmatic cooperation to bring the new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa to a higher level.

Yang arrived in Libreville on February 12 for an official visit to Gabon.

 

SOURCE 

China – Ministry of Foreign Affairs