Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated during talks with Tanzanian Foreign Minister Kombou that China and Tanzania should revitalize the railway and jointly build the TAZARA Railway Prosperity Belt.
According to the official website of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the 9th local time, Wang Yi held talks with Kombou in the former capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam.
Wang Yi said that this visit marks the 36th consecutive year that a Chinese foreign minister has made Africa the destination of the first visit of the new year, sending a clear signal to the world that China and Africa will always stand together. China has always regarded cooperation with Africa from the perspective of mutual support and assistance as part of South-South cooperation, and is willing to achieve common development with Africa and jointly build a new era all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future.
He pointed out that the TAZARA Railway is a symbol of China-Africa friendship and a monument to bilateral cooperation. China and Tanzania must work together to revitalize the railway, build the TAZARA Railway Prosperity Belt, support Tanzania’s comprehensive development, benefit the local people, continue to set an example of China-Africa cooperation, and further enrich and develop the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Tanzania.
Wang Yi emphasized that, as members of the Global South, China and Tanzania should join hands to safeguard the central role of the United Nations and the authority of international law, firmly support multilateralism, promote the establishment of a fairer and more reasonable global governance system, and defend the legitimate rights and interests of the vast number of developing countries.
According to the Chinese press release, Kombou stated that the TAZARA Railway revitalization project will strongly promote regional connectivity and economic development. Tanzania adheres to the one-China principle, is firmly committed to developing a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, and looks forward to greater benefits from China’s zero-tariff measures for Africa. Tanzania supports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative and the four major global initiatives, and is willing to deepen cooperation with China under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, enhance multilateral collaboration, and jointly safeguard regional and global fairness, justice, development, and prosperity.