Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Gen Odongo Jeje Abubakhar today delivered a statement at the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-Up Actions of the Forum on China – Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) currently underway in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony of the meeting, welcoming the African Ministers and put forward five proposals on promoting high-quality China-Africa cooperation. He noted that China and Africa need to support each other and uphold the solidarity of the Global South; China and Africa need to open up to the world and champion international free trade; China and Africa need to pursue mutual benefit and engage in cooperation on global development; China and Africa need to uphold justice and defend an equitable international order; China and Africa need to carry out exchange and mutual learning and promote diversity of civilizations in the world.
Minister Wang Yi read out a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping, to the meeting, in which President Xi announced that China will implement the policy of granting 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, provide more facilitation to least developed countries in Africa for their export to China, and work with Africa to further implement the 10 partnership actions, providing important guidance for China and Africa jointly advancing modernization and building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
In presenting Uganda’s statement, Hon. Odongo thanked the Government of the People’s Republic of China for organizing the meeting and took the opportunity to underscore some of the achievements attained by Uganda under FOCAC. He listed among them, large scale infrastructure developments like the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway and the Karuma and Isimba Hydropower Plants. Hon. Odongo also informed the meeting that FOCAC has also supported highly concessional loans and grants in Agriculture and social projects which are key drivers to Uganda’s Agro-Industrialization and Inclusive Growth Agenda.
Hon. Odongo shared the Government of Uganda’s 10-fold growth strategy stating that its focus is on Agro-Industrialization development, Tourism development, Mineral-based development, Oil and Gas (Petrochemical) development and Knowledge Economy Advancement. He added that the key enablers for the achievement the development agenda for Uganda, include Digital Infrastructure, Development of industrial parks, ICT, Human capital development, Construction of critical road infrastructure. i.e. Kibuye-Busega Highway, Irrigation to stabilize agriculture and Infrastructure for Digitalizing Health Information among others.
On the sidelines of the Ministerial meeting, Hon. Odongo also met with Mr. Chen Xiaodong, the Chair of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA). The Minister and Mr. Chen discussed the implementation of ongoing programs funded by China under her FOCAC framework and explored new areas which will be given consideration for funding by China, to help achieve the objectives of NDPIV and the 10-fold economic growth plan.
At the end of the Ministerial meeting, the two sides issued the China-Africa Changsha Declaration on Upholding Solidarity and Cooperation of the Global South, the List of Outcomes of the Implementation of the Follow-up Action of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the Concept Paper of 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, demonstrating the joint effort of China and Africa to implement the cooperation outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, and providing new driving forces for deepening political mutual trust, advancing mutually beneficial cooperation and building closer bond between the people.
