STATEMENT BY HIS EXELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (COMESA) COMRADE RORBERT GABRIEL MUGABE, AT THE 4th MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF THE FORUMON CHINA-AFRICA CO-OPERATION (FOCAC)

SHARM EL SHEIKH ,EGYPT:

8-9 NOVEMBER 2009.

Your Excellency, Mr Hosny Mubarak, President of the

Arab Republic of Egypt,

Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,

Honourable Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the Peoples Republic

Of China, Co-Chairs of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the

Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, Honourable Yang Jiechi,

Honorable Ministers,

Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Comrades and Friends.

I would like to begin by thanking you, President Mubarak,

For inviting me to the official opening of this important

Ministerial Conference in my capacity as chairperson of the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

I would like to thank the Government and people of Arab Republic

Of Egypt for the warm hospitality which has been extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in this beautiful resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.

Co-Chairs,

I am delighted that this platform also offers me an opportunity to heartily congratulate the People's Republic of China on 60th anniversary of the founding of their great nation. During the past 60 years, China has achieved phenomenal economic growth and development purely from its own efforts, with out having to the colonization and economic plunder of other nations. Its economic miracle is indeed a source of pride and inspiration to all of us.

Co-Chairs,

I join those who have spoken before me in hailing the new strategic partnership between China and Africa. It is indeed, the culmination of a long history of friendship and cooperation between China and Africa. Further, we are gratified to note that China has fulfilled the commitments contained in the 8-point Plan announced by President Hu Jintao have also brought vibrancy to the economic relations between China and Africa. Our trade volumes have doubled from US$55, 4 billion in 2006 to US$106, 84 billion last year. A number of countries in COMESA region have achieved significant increases in their trade exchanges with China, mainly because of China's measures to increase the number of export items receiving duty free entry into their market and establishment of trade and economic zones in a number of African countries. However, I do submit that a lot more can be done further deepen and broaden these economic relations. We are hopeful that this market access will be further expanded by extending preferences to Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in addition to what has been achieved at bilateral levels. As the largest Free Trade Area and Customs Union on the continent, COMESA hopes that the concessions can be widened to include countries that are outside the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) category.

Co-Chairs,

It is our wish to see greater diversification to include value added products. To achieve this, we would welcome additional investment by Chinese companies to raise Africa's productive capacity through addressing supply-side constraints, building of capacity in beneficiation, value-addition, manufacturing capacity, transfer of technology and investment in key enablers such as energy, transport infrastructure as well as information and information technology.

Co-Chairs

I would like to applaud the progress that has been achieved through the doubling of assistance to Africa in infrastructure development projects and the extension of buyer's credit loans to procure crucial inputs and other materials from China. These facilities have helped to bridge resource gaps for major projects. I hope that our Chinese friends will also consider investing in regional projects such as the North-South Corridor, the Central Corridor the Eastern and Western Corridors and a host of Spatial Development initiatives adopted under COMESA and other Regional Economic Communities. Investment in these projects will not only facilitate regional integration within the respective Regional Economic Communities, but will also provide solid and established regional frameworks for the trade and economic zones promoted by China under President Hu Jintao's 8-point plan. Most of our economies are agro-based. Thus most of our people derive their livelihoods from agriculture. Accordingly, the achievement of the targets set out in Millennium Development Goal 1, that is, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, is inextricably linked to the African agricultural sectors development, performance and prospects. We therefore applaud China's assistance through the establishment of agricultural technology demonstration centres, the secondment of 100 senior agricultural experts to Africa and the provision of inputs, machinery and equipment concessional terms. A number of countries in the COMESA region, including Zimbabwe, have benefited from this generous assistance. We hope that the agricultural technology demonstration centres being built across Africa will have a boarder regional impact.

To build the progress achieved in our co-operation in the agricultural sector, we should broaden the scope of our engagement to cover emerging issues that pose a threat to agriculture, access to food, food availability and food security, such as climate change, desertification and recurring droughts. Indeed, Co-Chairs, poverty and hunger, if not properly addressed, pose a serous threat to peace and security.

Co-Chairs,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It was here at Sharm El Sheikh that African leaders rejected external pressure to abandon Zimbabwe and chose instead to create conditions for reconciliation among Zimbabwe's main political parties through a SADC-facilitated process – a position we are grateful was supported by the Chinese government. That faith in the principle of African solutions to African problems was vindicated when Zimbabwe's main political parties signed the Global Political Agreement in September 2008.

The information of the Inclusive Government and the adoption of the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme earlier this year have led to the stabilization of the economy. We are grateful to the People's Republic of China and our friends within the SADC and COMESA regions who have given lines of credit and budget support to assist our economic recovery efforts. To move from the stabilization phase to sustained economic growth and development, we require additional assistance in the forms of lines of credit, balance of payment support, Foreign Direct Investment and joint ventures to enable our industries to recapitalise and retool. We also wish to reiterate the calls by the Africa union, SADC, COMESA, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and China to those who have imposed illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe to lift them without any further delay. These sanctions have caused tremendous economic hardships to Zimbabwe and her people.

I wish to conclude my remarks by expressing once again our gratitude for his dynamic partnership between China and Africa. We hope that its achievements will set an example for other countries who wish to forge partnerships with Africa. It vnow gives me pleasure to wish the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) every success in its deliberations.

I thank you.

RGM/gm