Libreville, September 27, 2023 (AGP) – A China-Africa High Level Forum on Sport and Education was held on September 23 in Beijing, China, under the theme: “Strengthening sports exchanges for know each other, respect each other and get closer,” and the opening of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
This event, which brought together more than 100 participants, aims to promote cooperation in school sports between China and African countries within the framework of the “Belt and Road” initiative, and to promote friendly exchanges between China and Africa. -Africans.
Several personalities were keen to lend their support to this noble initiative. These include, among others, the South African ambassador to China, the Guinean ambassador to China, as well as representatives of the African Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the University of Foreign Affairs of China, and the Beijing Primary and Secondary School Sports Association.
The Forum allowed participants to agree on the importance of sport in the development of relations between China and Africa. The Ambassador of Guinea to China, HE Ms. Aminata Koita, stressed that “Sport is a driver of performance, knowledge, connection between Africa and China. It is a tool for bringing people together, between young people, and above all an educational tool, because it allows young children who learn sport to know how to control themselves, to know how to accept themselves, and to know how to play. .
In the same direction, the President of the Beijing Primary and Secondary School Sports Association, Mr. Wang Shi, indicated that “Strengthening mutual sports exchanges, especially among young people, allows adolescents to know each other, to respect each other and get closer, thus contributing to the development of relations between Africa and China.”
Mr. Kouakou Koffi Lambert, President of the Sports Association of diplomats and African nationals living in China called “Dream Team”, for his part, affirmed that “The event is simply a cultural meeting, for a mixing of our cultures , for a mix between Africa and China.
Putting words into action, two friendly football matches were organized following the Forum. Primary and secondary school students from China and Africa first got the ball rolling. Then, the team of teachers from primary and secondary schools in Beijing faced the team of African diplomats. In the end, it was the African students and the Beijing teaching team respectively who won. It is on this note of joy and good humor that the activities of the China-Africa High Level Forum on Sport and Education ended.
Sport is a universal language without borders. China and Africa have understood this well. The Belt and Road Initiative provides young students with a vast platform for discussion around sport. In addition to physical activity, the initiative promotes the development of intercultural understanding, communication, and cooperation among young people, these young people who constitute the future of relations between China and Africa.
FSS/AGP (Source CGTN)
