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www.chinaview.cn 2008-01-16 18:31:33
BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Eritrean Ambassador spoke of his fascination with the cultures of China's ethnic minorities and the onception of building a harmonious society in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.
"I like to watch programs about ethnic minorities on CCTV-9, especially those depicting festival rituals of different cultures," said Tseggai Tesfazion, who came to Beijing in 2003 as the first Eritrean ambassador to China.
He explained that he wanted to take the experience of how to maintain a harmonious relationship among all the ethnic groups back to Eritrea, which has nine ethnic groups with diverse cultures.
"All the nine languages of our ethnic groups are being taught in school, and you can work in Eritrea speaking any of them, " said Tesfazion.
He said he was very interested in Confucian teaching about harmonious society and he had seen a role for Africa in China's conception of an harmonious world.
He said that during his five-year stay in China, what impressed him most was the country's equal treatment of diplomats from all countries.
"I never felt neglected as ambassador of a small country," he said.
He said China and Eritrea had witnessed a warm and cordial relationship since they set up ties in 1993. China was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with Eritrea after it became independent on May 24, 1993.
He said mining was one of the main industries for his country and Eritrea was collaborating with China in this field. Two Chinese companies, Beijing Donia Resources Co. and China Geological Engineering Company (CGC) have permission to explore mineral resources including gold, copper, zinc and iron in Eritrea.
In addition, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp have permission to develop gas and oil in Eritrea.
Currently, Eritrea is receiving 300 Chinese visitors a year, most
of them are business people.
"We try to provide a stable and peaceful environment to our
visitors," said Tesfazion.
Tesfazion said that his country prefers investment in trade rather than food aid. "Long-term investment will help us develop. We want to import more machineries and technical know-how from China," he said.
Currently, Eritrea imports trucks, cars, solar panels and a few other small commodities from China. The country also receives 15 to 20 doctors every three years from central China's Henan Province to help with local health care.
Eritrea is located in east Africa with 1,000 kilometers of Red Sea coastline. Its population is estimated at four million, with divided numbers of Christians and Muslims. Farming, husbandry, mining and fishing are the pillars of its economy.
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