MAPUTO, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) — The Chinese-aided Africa Bridge project has been launched in KaMavota District in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, aiming to support the southern African country’s agricultural poverty alleviation and sustainable development through educational assistance, infrastructure improvement, and agricultural cooperation.
The project, jointly promoted by the Africa Bridge Development Program, an international organization established in Africa under the support of the Shandong Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, and the Association of Entrepreneurs from Shandong Province in Mozambique, will invite agricultural experts from Shandong, east China, to work with Mozambican counterparts to enhance local farmers’ technical capacity and strengthen food security.
At the launch ceremony on Saturday, donations of school supplies, agricultural and construction tools, as well as financial support for school renovation and infrastructure upgrades, were made.
Wu Jinjia, charge d’affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Mozambique, said the project is a concrete outcome of China’s implementation of the 10 partnership actions announced at the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
She added that the Chinese government attaches great importance to agricultural cooperation with Mozambique, actively promoting connectivity among civil and social resources of both countries to support Mozambique’s agricultural modernization.
Jabula Zibia, director of agriculture at the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries, noted that the Africa Bridge project is an important initiative to boost Mozambique’s agricultural development and community building.
Zibia said China is an important agricultural partner of Mozambique, adding that the two countries have carried out multiple cooperation projects in areas such as technology transfer and food production.
Wen Nuan, vice governor of Shandong Province, said Shandong enterprises have actively engaged in infrastructure construction, housing donations and farmland development in Mozambique, bringing tangible benefits to local communities.
Since its establishment in 2024, the Africa Bridge Development Program has focused on sustainable development and livelihood projects, building innovation platforms for enterprises and promoting resource sharing to ensure project implementation. The program has already launched agricultural poverty reduction projects in several African countries.