CGTN Europe discussed this with Former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Lassina Zerbo.
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00:00As a former leader of your country and as a statesman with extensive experience in African diplomacy,
00:07how significant is the 2024 FOCAC summit and where do you see the trajectory of China-Africa relations going in the next three years?
00:16I think President Xi Jinping has put it rightly.
00:21I think the 2024 FOCAC forum between China and Africa will help open new horizons in the fight against poverty.
00:32He has laid out several topics, about I think 10 of them,
00:36and to address also China's role as the main donor to Africa,
00:42where at the same time many countries are struggling with growing debt.
00:47I think the question is, can FOCAC adapt to meet Africa's long-term needs?
00:55I think we'll need African countries to talk in the same wavelength with President Xi Jinping when he talked about the Global South.
01:03I think each African country in its bilateral relation with China should be clearly aligned with the continent's development goals.
01:15I think it has to be taken as a continent rather than going on an individual basis with China.
01:20This is how I see the next three years unfolding with the China-Africa relationship.
01:25Well, thank you for setting that out so clearly for us.
01:27And how do you think the focus on infrastructure in particular and industrial cooperation will accelerate economic growth across Africa?
01:35And how do you see China assisting African countries with the shift to sustainable energy?
01:42I think he's talked about certainly having tens of thousands of billion dollars pledged,
01:52spanning from infrastructure to agriculture, manufacturing,
01:57as well as the energy transition that is now becoming a big topic in Africa.
02:02China has shown itself as one of the leaders,
02:06especially if you take into account nuclear energy as we stand today,
02:11proving that with the small modular reactor,
02:15they can help transition faster the energy needs of Africa with energy security at the same time fighting poverty.
02:23That's an important topic together with the infrastructure.
02:26But infrastructure, I think we've been talking about that for many years in the China-Africa relation.
02:32What is important is that each African country and Africa as a whole show some transparency in the different agreement that they have,
02:41especially the financing mechanism in its requirement,
02:46if we want to have the outcome of this type of relation be measured significantly.
02:52Well, thank you so much for joining us today.
02:55That's former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Lucina Zerbo.
02:59Thank you, sir. We really appreciate your time.
03:01Thank you. Appreciate.