On 27 November 2015, the Director of CIDO and Head of the AU ECOSOCC Secretariat, Dr. Jinmi Adisa met with a high-level delegation from the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE), led by Mr. Shi Guohi, Deputy Secretary-General of CNIE.
The meeting was held as a follow-up to the 4th China-Africa People’s Forum which took place on 26 August 2015 in Yiwu, China, under the formal auspices of CNIE and AU ECOSOCC.
The objective of the meeting was therefore to initiate planning for the implementation of the Forum’s outcomes over the next year 3-year period.
In the ensuing discussion, Mr. Shi expressed the appreciation of Chinese partners for the integral role that AU ECOSOCC – under the leadership of its Presiding Officer Mr. Joseph Chilengi – had played in enabling the success of the People’s Forum; which concluded with the adoption of a Declaration on People-to-People Cooperation between Africa and China. He further reported that the achievements recorded at the People’s Forum in the area of people-to-people cooperation will be highlighted in the upcoming Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Deputy Secretary-General stated that the People’s Forum had contributed to the outcome documents to be adopted at the FOCAC Summit; and will be mentioned and given positive appraisal in the speeches and policy documents to be delivered at the summit.
The CNIE delegation presented a number of proposals for deliberation and discussion within the framework of establishing a roadmap for the implementation of the outcomes of the People’s Forum. These included a recommendation for the establishment of a joint Steering Committee to guide people-to-people exchanges and projects under the partnership. The proposed Steering Committee would be composed of members from CNIE and AU ECOSOCC as well as CSO representatives from both China and Africa; and would help draw up plans for the effective and efficient implementation of Forum outcomes.
It was further proposed that a mechanism for regular meetings between the two sides be established in order to enable the Steering Committee, once constituted, to meet and coordinate projects and initiatives in accordance with the interests and priorities of the China-Africa Cooperation. In this context, it was recommended that exchanges that focus on areas that add value to the China-Africa cooperation be jointly identified and prioritized.
The CNIE delegation urged CSOs on both sides to assume the responsibility of supporting the implementation of the outcomes that will emerge from the FOCAC Summit; by leveraging the considerable influence of civil society in their respective regions.
The two sides further agreed on the importance of formulating China-Africa joint positions on international issues in order to ensure that the perspectives and interests of the developing world are strengthened in the international sphere.
In his remarks – delivered on behalf of the Presiding Officer of AU ECOSOCC Mr. Joseph Chilengi – Dr. Adisa emphasized the critical role that CSOs stand to play in both Africa and China as partners and collaborators of government, especially on development issues. He affirmed the readiness of ECOSOCC to popularize the outcomes of the FOCAC Summit throughout its network of CSOs across the African continent.
Dr. Adisa also called for the creation of a civil society funding envelope within the FOCAC process to support people-to-people cooperation between the two sides. He further underlined the need for the integration of civil society into the FOCAC process itself; such that civil society representatives will be enabled to participate in deliberations even if only in an observer capacity. He stressed that such participation would allow civil society to understand, appreciate and disseminate the merits of the FOCAC process within CSO constituencies across both continents.
The Head of the ECOSOCC Secretariat assured the CNIE delegation that ECOSOCC would associate the China-Africa cooperation to its work with regional bodies in Africa including the Regional Economic Committees (RECs). Finally, he emphasized the need for both the Chinese diaspora in Africa and the African diaspora in China to be associated with the partnership process and associated projects.
The meeting was concluded with an agreement to organize, within the short-term, a visit to China by an AU ECOSOCC delegation led by the Presiding Officer; at which time the joint Steering Committee would be established. The two sides further agreed to initiate a process to develop a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to codify and guide their joint cooperation into the future.
The CNIE delegation was led by Mr. Shi Guohi, Deputy Secretary-General; and included Mr Xu Qiang, Secretary-General of the Beijing NGO Association for International Exchanges; Mr. Yang Guang, Director-General, Institute of West Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Ms. Song Jianing, Director of the French Channel, China Central Television (CCTV), Mr. Chen Wenjin, Director, Research Department, Beijing Association of Social Sciences, Ms. Zhao Jinyan, Deputy Secretary-General, Beijing Youth Federation, Mr. Zhang Yinghua and Ms. Wang Lu from CNIE, Mr. Liu Fengfeng, Official Interpreter, as well as representatives of the Chinese Mission to the African Union.
/K.O.