Hon. Prof. Eta Elizabeth Banda, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Dear Chinese Youth Volunteers,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

        Good morning. One year ago, 20 promising Chinese young women and men left their parents and families and with friendly feelings towards the Malawian people, came to Malawi as volunteers. Today, we have all of them present here.

        Over the past one year, all of you worked together with your Malawian friends, and used your specialties in the fields of agriculture, Chinese language teachers, traditional Chinese medicine, table tennis and computer application, etc to serve the Malawian people. Your hard work has been recognized by the Malawian government and people, and has yielded fruitful results. Thanks to the Chinese languages teaching program produced by three Chinese youth volunteers together with MBC TV Station and Zodiak Radio Station, many Malawian friends now can say "你好" "谢谢"to me. More and more Malawian people are interested to learn Chinese language and Chinese culture. The table tennis coaches also received a lot of praises from the national table tennis team of Malawi. The other volunteers have also done a good job. Here, I don't have to mention them one by one.

        Next week, you will conclude your term in Malawi, and return to China. On behalf of the Chinese government, I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciations to all of you, for the wonderful job you have done, and for the contributions you have made in promoting mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of our two countries.

        I also wish to thank the Malawian government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of President and Cabinet, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports in particular, for the precious support you have given to the Chinese youth volunteers during their stay in Malawi.

        Ladies and Gentlemen,

        The future of China-Malawi friendly relations is in the hands of the younger generations. In the days to come, the Chinese government will continue to expand the youth exchanges and cooperation between our two countries. We will not only dispatch Chinese youth volunteers to Malawi according to the needs of Malawi, but also invite more Malawian youth to visit or study in China.

        My fellow youth volunteers, I believe the year you have spent in Malawi, the Warm Heart of Arica, will be an unforgettable memory in your life. I wish that after you return to China, you will continue to promote Malawi to the Chinese people, continue to promote China-Malawi friendship, and make new contributions to the development of China-Malawi relations.

        Finally, I wish you a safe and sound journey back to China, and all the best.

        Thank you.