Chinese language training course launched for Kenyan diplomats

A Chinese language training course for Kenyan diplomats was launched on Friday at the University of Nairobi's Confucius Institute where it will be carried out beginning next week.

A total of 30 Kenyan diplomats serving in various departments in the ministry of foreign affairs will undergo a four-month training in Chinese language.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa hailed the Chinese training course by terming it a milestone in China-Kenya bilateral cooperation.

Liu said the course, as a diplomat's capacity building program, is a latest testimony to the enhanced cooperation of the two sides.

He noted that proficiency in mandarin among Kenyan diplomats will enhance working relationship with their Chinese counterparts to revitalize bilateral cooperation.

"Joint efforts of both countries' diplomats will integrate our shared interests, combine the wishes and aspirations of both peoples toward common development and prosperity," Liu remarked.

"Kenya is expanding its engagement with emerging powers like China, and language will play a crucial role in this endeavor," Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Amina Mohamed said in a speech read on her behalf by Ambassador Ben Ogutu, a senior official at the ministry of foreign affairs.

According to Mohamed, a grasp of spoken and written Chinese language among diplomats dovetails with Kenya's quest to cement strong and mutually beneficial ties with Beijing in diverse areas like trade, education and skills transfer.

Fluency in Chinese language among diplomats will advance cultural and economic diplomacy with the Asian giant, she added. Endit