Janan Mosazai, Afghan Ambassador to China, accepts Xinhuanet's interview on Feb. 28, 2017. (Xinhuanet/Xu Xin)
BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Afghanistan looks forward to learning from China’s experience and success in poverty alleviation and expects to see significant achievements of bilateral cooperation in 2017, said Janan Mosazai, Afghan Ambassador to China.
The ambassador made these remarks in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhuanet.
Afghanistan salutes and feels happy about China’s achievement in lifting hundreds of millions of its citizens out of poverty over the past nearly 40 years, the ambassador said.
“It is a historic achievement” and “a direct contribution to poverty alleviation and elimination globally”, he added.
Afghanistan makes poverty reduction and elimination an extremely important priority, the ambassador introduced.
Afghanistan looks forward to learning from China in this field, hoping to gain help from the Chinese people and introduce China’s poverty alleviation experience in Afghanistan, he said.
Apart from cooperation in poverty alleviation, the ambassador also put emphasis on more bilateral cooperation brought by the Belt and Road Initiative.
Afghanistan welcomes and supports the Belt and Road Initiative as it is a “transformative idea” in broadening cooperation in many areas, such as economy, infrastructure, people-to-people exchanges and security, he said.
Afghanistan sits on a significant location within the Belt and Road Initiative, the ambassador said.
The significant location, he hoped, will “serve as a land bridge and connectivity hub in the ‘Heart of Asia’ region”.
The ambassador spoke highly of the achievements made between Afghanistan and China in implementing the Belt and Road Initiative in 2016.
He highlighted the launch of the cargo service train linking east China’s Jiangsu Province and northern Afghanistan’s Hairatan port last year.
The train connection will allow for increase in trade between the two countries and facilitate the transportation of Afghan products to China, which is a huge market, the ambassador said.
He also pinned high hope for significant achievements to be made between the two countries this year.
The ambassador said he expected to see a comprehensive discussion between the two countries during the Belt and Road forum for international cooperation to be held this May.
The forum will inject more energy and impetus into the implementation of projects between China and Afghanistan, he believed.
