China appoints first envoy to UN Economic Commission for Africa

China has appointed its first envoy to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Kuang Weilin, who also serves as Head of the Chinese Mission to the African Union (AU) was named to the post and presented his credentials to Carlos Lopes, UNECA Executive Secretary on Monday at the headquarters of UNECA in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa..

During their meeting, Kuang said he was glad to be the first Chinese envoy to UNECA, and that China counts on UNECA for fresh ideas on how to best promote Africa's development.

UNECA is considered as a top research institute and think-tank in Africa.

Lopes expressed his delight with the Chinese government agreeing to formalize its relationship with UNECA, according to an UNECA statement issued on Wednesday.

"This will help us to access Chinese expertise and intellectual capacity and make it available to Africa," said Lopes.

He assured the Chinese envoy of UNECA's support.

Both have agreed to enhance cooperation to promote the further development of China-Africa ties.

During the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in early December last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a package of 60 billion U.S. dollars funding support including grants, interest-free loans and preferential loans to support Africa's development.

Kuang said the move would further drive investment from China's private sector into Africa.

He also said he would attend the African Development Week from March 31 to April 5 in Addis Ababa, jointly held by UNECA and AU. The annual UNECA-AU Conference of Ministers will be held during the week.

The envoy expressed interest in paying closer attention to UNECA's research papers, workshops and seminars.

On his part, Lopes said UNECA was strengthening its role as a major think-tank for Africa, and working more effectively with other pan-African institutions to support Africa's transformation agenda. Endit