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The dramatic expansion of South-South economic relations is transforming traditional patterns of economic development. This is nowhere more evident than in African-Asian trade and investment flows, which is especially evident between China and Africa. The Program is to provide South-South exchanges of development experience between Africa and China.
The Program is expected to be multi-year and is being developed and financed by the Chinese Government with strong support from the World Bank. The first event of the Program was held from May 20- 29, 2008 in Beijing, China.
Objective
The objective of the program is to explore ways in which China's economic and investment policy experiences can inform Africa's efforts to accelerate its economic and social progress. The program will include a three-day workshop and field visits. The workshop will start with an overview session focusing on China’s development approach. This will be followed by a number of sessions focusing on thematic areas that are designed to explore some of the most critical issues facing Africa today using this common prism. The thematic topics to be covered include Agriculture and Rural Development; Infrastructure; and Special Economic Zones (SEZs), FDI, and Trade Development. An additional session is planned to exchange views on China’s economic cooperation with and engagement in Africa including China’s investment in Africa. The workshop will end with session discussing the implementation of reforms. Field visits to different regions of China where there are experiences applicable to Africa will follow the workshop. Following the field visits, participants will re-convene in Beijing for a closing/wrap-up session.
Target Audience
The program is targeted to senior-level government officials who have both the highest level of policy authority and technical knowledge in the specific thematic areas that are identified below. Participants are expected to be at Vice Ministerial and/or Director General/Deputy Director General or equivalent. For the first event in May 2008, 31 participants were invited from the following 18 Eastern and Southern Africa countries and regional integration body: Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and COMESA. A future event will be held for participants from Central and West African countries that have diplomatic relations with China.
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© 2009