Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｓｉｎｏ－Ｂｕｒｋｉｎａｂｅ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｆｏｒｕｍ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Invited by the CPAFFC， the delegation of the Sino-Burkinabe Friendship Forum headed by its secretary general Titanwa Francois Bognini paid a goodwill visit to Beijing， Hangzhou and Shanghai from June 15 to 22.

It was the first time for all three members of the delegation to visit China. They said with deep feelings， there exists a profound traditional friendship between the people of Burkina Faso and China. In Burkina Faso， many public facilities built with China’s help are still playing a great role. For instance the Friendship Hospital had the best medical facilities in the country when Chinese medical teams were working there. Though it was 5 kilometres from the capital city， many inhabitants in the capital would go to see the doctors there when they fell ill. The August 4 Stadium， the largest in the country， was where the finals of the 21st African Cup of Nations were held in 1998. The office buildings of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment were constructed with China’s assistance， and China had help set up agricultural experimental fields which are still under cultivation.

The head of the delegation said， the Chinese people cherish sincere friendship for the people of Burkina Faso and have given Burkina Faso selfless assistance， for which the people of Burkina Faso will never forget. The friendship between Burkina Faso and China is deep and firmly rooted in the hearts of the people. Now， few countries in Central and Western Africa have not yet established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. As a member of the Economic Community of West African States， we often feel isolated. In recent years under the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum， cooperation between China and Africa has developed rapidly. China has reduced or exempted debt owed by African countries worth more than 10 billion yuan， but Burkina Faso cannot share this fruit of cooperation. We feel regret for the unwise decision made by the government of Burkina Faso. In spite of all this， we believe that with the continuous development of China， now it is the best time to change this state of affairs. The founding of the Sino-Burkinabe Friendship Forum complies with the needs of this historical times. The Forum， set up in December 2003， has a membership of over 200 at present. Among them， there are civil servants， lawyers， teachers， entrepreneurs and students. They have come together for a common aspiration， that is， to promote economic， trade and cultural contacts between Burkina Faso and China， enhance friendship between the people of the two countries and eventually bring about a change in the government stand through their efforts.

All the members of the delegation are from the business circles. During the visit they carried out initial exchanges of views and established links with Chinese enterprises， and gained firsthand knowledge of the Chinese market， while the Chinese entrepreneurs had a better understanding of Burkina Faso. The entrepreneurs of China and Burkina Faso agreed to start from trade and with the deepening of cooperation and understanding of each other’s market， they will consider other items such as building factories with joint investments， etc.