30 May, 2014 --- The closing ceremony of the “Seminar on the Formulation and Implementation of Development and Poverty Reduction Policies for Officials from Francophone Africa”, sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the P.R.C and organized by the IPRCC, took place at the Beijing Fraternal Cooperation International Hotel. A total of 26 representatives working in the area of poverty reduction and development from 11 countries including Benin, Burundi, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Niger and Senegal attended the 15-day event. Mr. COULIBALY FAMOUSSA, chief of Cabinet, Ministry of Planning and Development and IPRCC Assistant Director General Wang Shu respectively addressed the closing ceremony.

Themed on the “Formulation and Implementation of Development and Poverty Reduction Policies”, this 15-day seminar is designed to introduce the achievements and experience of China’s development-oriented poverty reduction policy to African officials working in the area of poverty reduction and development, promote the knowledge sharing between China and Africa in terms of policy reduction policy and poverty eradication cause, advance mutual poverty reduction and development. The seminar consists of three parts: thematic lectures, country-specific presentations and field trip. A number of domestic experts and scholars were invited to speak on China’s socioeconomic development, formulation and execution of China’s rural development policies, rural poverty reduction and development policies, urban poverty reduction policies and practices, use and management of fund for rural poverty reduction and development in China, as well as the development mode and experience in rural education, health and social security. As for the country-specific presentations, the delegates were invited to introduce the mode and method adopted by their own countries to formulate and implement the development and poverty reduction policies. Two field trips were made to Hubei Province and Beijing. In Hubei Province, the participants inspected in Lichuan City: Duorenduo Food Co., Ltd., rural ecological protection project, industrial development, village environmental improvement and eco-protection projects in Wu’er Village, Maoba Township; in Xianfeng County: Huangjindong Middle School, the village-based development project in Dashaba Village, Zhongbao Town Clinic’s public health service project, relocation-based rural poverty reduction project in Gaosuntang Village, Zhongbao Town Welfare Institution’s rural social security project and geese breeding project in Xipigou Village; in Enshi City: Runbang Tea Company’s agricultural technology expansion project; the projects of new rural reconstruction, industrial development and pre-employment training for labor transferred from secondary vocational schools in Hukou Village and Fengxiangpo Village of Bajiao Township. In Beijing, the participants inspected the Dongsi Olympic Community Sports & Culture Center in Dongcheng District, watched some sports and cultural activities carried out by community residents and visited places for public benefit activities, such as Library, Qiaoniang Studio, Community Mental Health Service Station, Early Education Guidance Center, Olympic Community Exhibition Hall, Basketball Stadium and Ping Pong Ball Sports Hall to personally experience the development of community sports and cultural undertakings and the promotion of the positive Olympic spirit by urban community residents.

This seminar facilitated the policy sharing and experience exchanging between China and African developing countries in the field of poverty reduction and development, analyzed their problems and challenges in advancing the development and poverty reduction process, and fostered their exchanges and cooperation in poverty reduction.