Interview: Upcoming FOCAC meeting to open up new prospects for Africa-China cooperation: Congolese FM

BRAZZAVILLE, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled for Nov. 29-30 in Senegal's capital of Dakar, will open up new prospects for Africa-China cooperation, said Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Congo Jean-Claude Gakosso.

The upcoming FOCAC meeting in Dakar "embodies the continuation of mutual commitments made between Africa and China," which would "open up new perspectives" for Africa-China cooperation, Gakosso told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Like many other African countries, Congo benefits from the FOCAC platform, as Brazzaville and Beijing have, for years, been pushing for their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Gakosso said.

"Thanks to the FOCAC platform, Congo has benefited from many infrastructure projects, not to mention the multiple training opportunities of students and trainees in various fields," he said.

Gakosso said Africa and China should further strengthen their partnership despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is clear that the cooperation with China has made it possible for many African continent countries, including Congo, to get a makeover," he said, while refuting criticism aimed at "ruining China's image on the African continent."

On COVID-19 origins tracing, Gakosso supports the conclusion of the report of the World Health Organization-China joint mission released in March, which clearly suggests that a lab leak of COVID-19 is "extremely unlikely."

"The most important thing is not to fall into accusations and polemics but to save lives," he said, urging the whole world to "be concerned about finding solutions and effective treatments to eradicate this pandemic once and for all."

Hailing China as a country which "has always had a listening ear for its friends," the minister expressed his appreciation for "the promptness that China shows in the distribution of vaccines against COVID-19," adding that more than 250,000 Congolese have received at least one dose of the Sinopharm vaccine.

Noting that the Communist Party of China (CPC) held a ceremony in July celebrating its centenary, Gakosso said the CPC's endeavors, especially those for China's economic recovery during the pandemic, "inspire" each and every African country that is in search of its own development path.