On September 8, Minister Zhang Wei, Deputy Head of the Mission of China to the African Union, and his team visited African Union Institute for Statistics (STATAFRIC) in Tunisia, and held in-depth discussions on deepening China-AU statistical cooperation with Mr. Adoum Gagoloum, acting director and chief economist, and about 20 STATAFRIC officials .

Minister Zhang emphasized that statistics play an increasingly prominent role in Africa’s economic and social development. Strengthening cooperation in this area is an important component of China–AU collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative. He underlined that the Mission of China to the AU stands ready to facilitate closer exchanges and cooperation among relevant Chinese institutions and STATAFRIC, with a view to contributing to the realization of the AU’s Agenda 2063.

Mr. Gagoloum spoke highly of President Xi Jinping’s recent proposal of Global Governance Initiative, and expressed his appreciation to Minister Zhang and his team’s visit. He introduced key priorities of STATAFRIC and looked forward to deepening cooperation with Chinese side in areas such as capacity building and technical personnel exchanges to effectively enhance Africa’s statistical capacity.