Hon. Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, State Minister for Primary Education,

Mr. Abdirahman Meygag, Country Representative of WFP in Uganda,

Friends from the news media,

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning!

It is my great pleasure to attend this Handover Ceremony of China’s food aid to the WFP to be implemented in Karamoja.

In cooperation with WFP and the government of Uganda, today, on behalf of the government of China, I am going to officially hand fund to WFP. The fund will be expected to purchase 1480 metric tonnes of beans and maize, and 152 metric tonnes of cooking oil which will be distributed to schools in Karamoja through the schoolfeeding program in cooperation with the Government of Uganda and WFP. 165,300 children from 315 schools in Karamoja will be benefited from this project.

This donation is part of a rapid response to the urgent request of the government of Uganda to manage the food security issue in Karamoja.

This donation is also an action to implement the commitment by H.E. President Xi Jinping made at China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue in Johannesburg in 2023, to help Africa tackle the current food crisis, China will provide additional emergency food assistance to African countries in need.  

In his keynote speech, President Xi announced that to help Africa tackle the current food crisis, China will provide additional emergency food assistance to African countries in need.  

This project is a good example of South-South and Trilateral Cooperation among China, Uganda and international organizations, and it is the third food assistance to Karamoja in cooperation with WFP and Ugandan government.

In 2018, China donated 6,000 metric tonnes of food to Uganda through the WFP’s office in Uganda. The food benefited more than 200,000 people, mostly school children in Karamoja.

In 2021, China donated another food assistance worth to Uganda through WFP, which benefited more than 120,000 people in 300 schools in Karamoja . 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Over the past decade, under the joint guidance and commitment of Chinese President Xi Jinping and African leaders, the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the AU’s Agenda 2063 has been promoted. China has remained Africa's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding 2 trillion US dollars in this period. Large-scale infrastructure projects, aided or participated in by China, including railroads, highways, ports, and electrical infrastructure, continuously benefit the African people. China has dispatched about 9,000 medical personnel and provided more than 100,000 training opportunities to African countries. Through cooperation in fields such as poverty reduction, health, education, science and technology, environmental protection, climate change, youth and women affairs, we have strengthened exchanges with African countries, provided assistance, and shared experience, fostering a self-sustaining drive for Africa's comprehensive social and economic development. As we enter a new decade, China and Africa are working together to implement nine programs of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as well as the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035.

At the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue held in South Africa last August, President Xi Jinping made three proposals, namely, the Initiative on Supporting Africa’s Industrialization, the Plan for China Supporting Africa’s Agricultural Modernization and the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development, to advance modernization and create a great future for African countries including Uganda. The three proposals will bring numerous opportunities for China-Uganda practical cooperation in the future. Further more, in Autumn this year, China and Africa partners will convene a new FOCAC Summit in Beijing, where leaders of both sides will map out a new blue print for China-Africa practical cooperation and bring more benefits to the two Peoples.

As the social-economic transformation steadily advances in Uganda, China wishes to join hands with Uganda to carry forward the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation characterized by sincere friendship and equality, mutual benefit and common development, fairness and justice, openness and inclusiveness, and progress with the times. The two countries have a shared history of fighting colonialism, seek common development through mutual beneficial cooperation, and will march together in the right direction towards building a community with a shared future

Thank you!