Chinese ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian has reiterated his country’s readiness to, at all times, rally behind Kenya’s development agenda.
As the new administration led by President William Ruto begins its five-year tenure in office, the diplomat indicated that President Xi Jinping’s government will be at hand to offer support to Nairobi and work hand in hand with leaders for the benefit of Kenyans.
For instance, Ambassador Zhou indicated that China will continue to cooperate with Kenya towards the realization of the food security agenda. Speaking during a visit to Egerton University in Nakuru County, the Ambassador described Kenya as “a good ground to invest in projects like agro-processing to increase food security in the country,”
He commended the country’s institutions of higher learning such as Egerton for offering agricultural courses noting that they have the ability to propel Kenya to self-sufficiency as far as food is concerned. He gave the example of his country, which he said gave a strong focus to agriculture especially by adopting new technologies to improve the sector, citing this as the backbone of its fast-paced development. With the help of China, Ambassador Zhou expressed confidence Kenya can achieve similar milestones.
“In our childhood, we could go hungry. Most people do not know how difficult it was in your younger days. But we worked hard and grew our economy to 18% of the global GDP,” he said
The ambassador who also issued a number of Chinese scholarships to Kenyan students, said his nation’s success since the founding of the People’s Republic of China should motivate Kenyans to give their best to the country in order to attain the nation’s development aspirations.
“As Chinese, we are very proud of our country. The Chinese National Day is around the corner. It’s happening in the next two weeks, on October 1st…..What the Chinese have been doing since 1949, is almost the same efforts like our Kenyans brothers and sisters have been doing since independence in 1963, to fight poverty, disease, and ignorance,” he said as he promised to also continue channeling support to the country’s education sector.
“What have we achieved since then? Starting with education, this year alone the number of college students who are seeking jobs is 11 million. These are graduates seeking jobs after graduation. Back in 1949, all across China, there were only 117,000 graduates. You can see the great strides we have made in education,” he added
Zhou spoke as former Chinese top diplomat to Nairobi Wu Peng also reiterated that his country’s relations with Kenya will not waver promising to ensure that the existing cooperation guarantees good tidings to all citizens.
“China stands ready to work closely with the Kenyan side to promote bilateral cooperation in all areas and advance our comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,” said Wu Peng who is now the director-general in charge of African affairs at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Egerton University Vice-Chancellor Professor Isaac Kibwage appreciated the Scholarships that were awarded to the institution’s students and Staff by the Chinese envoy.
Apart from the agro-innovation park, the ambassador also visited Ksh. 100 Million Belt and Road Molecular Laboratory as well as the Confucius Institute.
The Agro-innovation Park’s main goal is to entrench the need to develop education, science, technology, and innovation thus contributing to knowledge-based economic development of the country.
