"Friendship" project promotes the continuous deepening of China-Mauritius cooperation

Xinhua News Agency, Nouakchott, July 20th: The "Friendship" Project Promotes Continuous Deepening of China Mauritius Cooperation

Xinhua News Agency reporter Si Yuan

In early July, in the Confucius Institute classroom located in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, Chinese teacher Li Mozheng led students to sing "Eternal Friendship" with a melodious melody, conveying friendship that transcends language and borders.

Everyone can sing this song, just like the friendship between China and Mauritius, which lasts forever, "said Li Mo.

China established diplomatic relations with Mauritania on July 19, 1965. For the past 60 years, "friendship" has become a key word running through the cooperation between the two countries - Friendship Port, Friendship Hospital, China Mauritius Friendship Overpass

Nouakchott Autonomous Port, also known as Friendship Port, is located on the Atlantic coast and is known as the "economic lung" of Mauritania. The port was constructed by Chinese enterprises and officially put into operation in 1986.

Before the construction of Friendship Port, Mauritania had almost no natural harbor and scarce resources, and the construction conditions were extremely difficult. Europeans believed that it was not suitable to build a port here. The completion of Friendship Port is regarded by the Mao side as a symbol of national economic independence.

Without ports, many development projects in our country cannot be implemented at all. The construction of deep-water ports has promoted the import of industrial equipment and daily necessities, laying a material foundation for national development, "said Faisal Baruk, advisor to the Friendship Port Authority. He was once sent to China to study port management.

In recent years, with the continuous support of China, Friendship Port has been continuously expanding and upgrading. According to Ahmadou Mukhtar Gayd, the business manager of the Port Authority, the annual throughput of the port will reach 6.12 million tons in 2024, with an annual container handling capacity of 230000 standard containers, undertaking about 80% of the country's foreign trade.

Nowadays, ports not only serve the whole of Mauritania, but also promote the construction of inland ports for inland countries such as Mali, and plan to establish economic zones in the port area to support the development of the oil and gas industry, "said Gueid." The development and growth of ports cannot be separated from China's strong support, and we hope that our cooperation can continue

The China Mauritius Friendship Overpass, completed in May this year, is another major landmark project that promotes the "hard connectivity" of infrastructure and the "heart connectivity" of the people between China and Mauritius.

The China Mauritius Friendship Overpass is located on the N2 National Road in Nouakchott and is constructed by Chinese enterprises. After the completion of the project, it effectively alleviated the traffic pressure on the main road of Nouakchott and injected new momentum into urban development. The travel environment for local residents has been improved, and the China Mauritius Friendship Overpass has become a popular check-in spot for internet celebrities.

The project also promoted local employment. Chinese engineers have been teaching technology to Mao employees step by step, cultivating a large number of technical talents such as steel reinforcement workers, surveyors, and testers. Many local employees have been competing with other projects, and the talents we have trained have truly been recognized, "said Zhang Huijie, the leader of the project construction technology team.

The cooperation between China and Mauritius in the field of healthcare is equally heartwarming. The Friendship Hospital, built with Chinese aid in 2010, is located in the Arafat district of Nuakshot. It is one of the largest public comprehensive hospitals in the capital and covers nearly 60% of the local middle and low-income population.

Chinese friends have provided us with great help, "said Mustafa Abdulrahi, the hospital director. China not only assists in building hospitals, but also provides long-term equipment, drugs, and technical support.

In addition, China has dispatched medical teams to Mauritania since 1968, and has sent a total of 35 batches with over 800 personnel to continue providing medical services in the area. The 35th batch of Maoist medical teams set up a special Chinese medicine consulting room in Friendship Hospital. Chinese medicine acupuncture and moxibustion has a significant effect on neck, shoulder, waist and leg pain, and is popular with local patients.

Every time there is a consultation, there are always many people queuing up to see traditional Chinese medicine. We also train local doctors on traditional Chinese medicine knowledge, so that more locals can understand traditional Chinese medicine, "said Liu Sijia, a member of the medical team.

Looking back at these projects named after "friendship", Chinese Ambassador to Mauritania Tang Zhongdong said in an interview with reporters that Mao's initiative to promote the series of aid projects as "friendship" projects reflects the deep political trust and people's friendship between China and Mauritania, as well as the deep-rooted Chinese aid in the local area. In the future, there will be more 'friendship' projects landing, which will continuously push the bilateral relations to a new level