China tips Malawi on youth development
China has stressed the need for Malawi to focus on human resources development targeting the youth if the country is to move out of the poverty trap and attain rapid development.
Chinese Ambassador Shi-Ting Wang said in Lilongwe on Monday that this is one of the strategies his country employed to rise to the status of the world’s second powerful economy in a couple of decades.
He said: “We [China] have always put youth development as a priority. That is why, as a country, we have managed to move out of poverty and become the world’s second largest economy just within a few decades. We would like to share these experiences of development with Malawi because we believe that Malawi can also do it.”
Shi-Ting spoke during a reception organised for 25 Malawian youths on their return from a three-week learning tour of China organised and sponsored by the Chinese Government.
The youth were identified and sent on this trip by African Union Southern African Office (AU-Saro) as a way of implementing the AU’s youth charter which Malawi ratified.
According to AU Southern Africa representative, Auguste Ngomo, Malawi has already domesticated the charter to the level of about 90 percent.
He said the AU is helping the African youth to open up businesses that will make meaningful contributions to the economy by employing at least 100 other people.
In his remarks, Minister of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Henry Mussa said that it was indeed important to invest in the youth if any meaningful dividends are to be realised from them. n
