China will finance a large conference center for Guinea-Bissau’s CPLP presidency and rehabilitate 300 kilometers of roads, among other investments in the African country, Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embaló announced.
The head of state made the announcement at Bissau airport, before embarking on a three-day state visit to Beijing, starting on the 10th.
“Next year, Guinea-Bissau will assume the rotating presidency of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries). This means that even if Umaro Sissoco Embaló goes to the elections and is defeated, the next President will continue to hold the presidency of the CPLP,” he noted.
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Sissoco Embaló also added that China, which he considered to be Guinea-Bissau’s traditional partner, had agreed to build a large conference center in Bissau and to tar at least 300 kilometers of roads.
China is currently building the only road in Guinea-Bissau that connects Osvaldo Vieira International Airport to the town of Safim, a stretch of 8.2 kilometers, budgeted at 13.6 million euros.
“Before we get there, China has already announced a donation of USD 27.5 million to Guinea-Bissau, which will be earmarked for projects, independently of other projects we already have in the pipeline,” he added.
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The Guinean President praised China’s stance, which, he said, “never meddles in the internal politics of an African country” and also the fact that it has helped train Guinea-Bissau’s military cadres. Embaló also considered China to be an “unavoidable and indisputable partner in world geopolitics”.