The Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof Johnson Nyarko Boampong, has participated in the China-Africa Cooperation for Development Conference which was organised by the Centre for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD) in Beijing.
The event was held from the 29th -30th August, 2023, was attended by high profile personalities from several sectors of the economy in Africa and China. Also in attendance were diplomats from the Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Burundi, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Algeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mozambique, Uganda, United Nations, several businesses from China as well as Economic and Educational Think Tanks from across the globe.
The conference was chaired by ZHANG Laiming, Vice Minister of the Development Research Center of the state Council of People Republic of China (DRC) and Chief Vice President of CIKD.
Participants in the forum discussed several topics, including the Belt and Road initiative and China-Africa development cooperation, Industrialization, urbanization and Inclusive Development-with a focus on digital economy, infrastructure, agricultural development, inclusive growth among others, as well as the South-south cooperation and common sustainable development.
Speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor pointed out that education remained a critical area that was worth mentioning within the China-Africa cooperation. “As I speak, the University of Cape Coast is one of the few Universities in Africa that has a Confucius Institute for the study of Chinese language and culture. And I must say that since the establishment of this Institute, the bond between Ghana and China is growing deeper”.
He further stated that “…there are indeed a lot more areas of development cooperation that we are yet to fully explore. Africa still has a lot of untapped potential – not just her natural resources, but also in her human capital. Africa has incredible human talent in her youth.”
According to the Vice-Chancellor, what was needed to unearth the untapped potential was a commitment by development partners such as China to come to the table with a commitment to have a win-win dialogue towards a shared future that is based on mutual respect for one another.
For this to happen, Prof. Boampong said, “China and Africa must continue to dialogue. This dialogue must be based on our collective interests taking into cognizance our varied socio-cultural and political circumstances”.
As part of the visit to China, the Vice-Chancellor joined his colleagues; Prof. O.B. Kehinde, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokota, Nigeria and the Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities, Prof. Olusola Bandele Oyewole to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Chinese Secretariat of the China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism on the 31st of August, 2023 at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Prof. Boampong also held discussions with the President and a team from the Beijing Foreign Studies University to collaborate with the University of Cape Coast in the areas of education studies and languages. A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between UCC and Zheijang Normal University to collaborate in research, student and faculty exchange, staff and development through short courses, curriculum exchange and development as well as joint degree programmes. However, the emphasis of the collaboration will be in the area of education studies and educational research with the view of forming an educational think-tank focusing on China-Africa higher education.
The Vice-Chancellor was accompanied by the Dean of the Office of International Relations, UCC, Prof. Samuel Bert Boadi-Kusi.
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Source: Documentation and Information Section/OIR-UCC
