China keen to support Africa's capacity building in geoinformation

China is keen to bolster its cooperation with Africa in the area of surveying, mapping and geo-information technology, Li Pendge, Deputy Head of China's National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation said.

Li said China could contribute to Africa's capacity building in geoinformation area in an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of an international forum on geospatial information management that wrapped up Friday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

He stated that China has been supporting Africa by providing training to African professionals and donating equipment while sharing satellite images with countries on the continent.

"We have trained groups of people including engineers and officials to learn how to use the new technology. We have donated instruments for surveying, mapping, software and satellite images to our African counterparts," he said.

"We have also trained more African youths in Chinese universities. In this way, we will try to do our best to make geoinformation more useful in Africa," he said.

The three-day Forum aimed to raise awareness and highlight the importance to decision makers of the need for fit-for-purpose land administration and management information.

Oliver Chinganya, Director of the African Centre for Statistics at ECA, told Xinhua that China's collaboration with Africa in different arenas could provide opportunities for Africa to have the Chinese expertise and technology in geospatial information area.

He stated that the Chinese could contribute both in terms of expertise and also in technology to Africa's geoinformation capacity building.

"We have seen that the Chinese mapping agency has a very robust mechanism, very robust technology, which I think we can borrow from," he said. Endit