Senior Chinese military official visits Djibouti

　　Fan Changlong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, salutes soldiers on a Chinese command ship, currently in Djibouti for resupply. [Photo: mod.gov.cn]

A senior Chinese military official has visited a Chinese command ship being resupplied in Djibouti, along with soldiers and officers in the African country to support the construction of a supply facility.

Fan Changlong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, emphasized that soldiers, officers and experts must ensure the quality and progress of overseas support construction, make greater efforts in peacekeeping missions and secure personal safety, improve military aid efficiency, deepen the relationship with local forces and ensure the safety of maritime communications.

Fan also held talks with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Prime Minster Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, discussing ways of further strengthening bilateral relations and comprehensive cooperation in a variety of areas, including in military matters.

Fan recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Guelleh had reached an important consensus on bilateral relations during their meeting at a summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg in December.

He said that the two leaders reached consensus on enhancing political mutual trust and advancing practical cooperation in various fields to jointly build a new model of win-win cooperation and common development between developing countries.

China is willing to work with Djibouti to implement the important consensus reached by the two leaders and to actively push China-Djibouti relations to a new level, Fan said.

Fan also pointed out that relations between the two militaries have been developing smoothly in recent years.

The two sides have carried out frequent exchanges of visits, and achieved remarkable results in personnel training, naval escort and supplies, and participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

He said China is willing to make joint efforts with Djibouti to continue to promote the healthy and stable development of relations between the militaries.

President Guelleh commended China for its strong support and assistance to Djibouti, saying that Djibouti attaches great importance to the relations between the militaries and the two countries.

Djibouti would like to strengthen exchange and cooperation with China in political, economic and military fields, he said.

Prime Minister Kamil said Djibouti and China can boast of close relations, and that Djibouti is willing to provide support for China's activities in Africa.

Fan was visiting the African country, after meeting Chinese soldiers and officers of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and the Chinese military experts for support missions in Tanzania.