Jubilant crowds on Monday welcomed the Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, senior Tanzanian government officials, local government officials and Chinese envoys to witness the handover of a China-aided primary school with songs and dances in the eastern region of Pwani in the east African country.

Delivering a speech at the handover ceremony held at his hometown of Msoga, about 110 km west to Dar es Salaam, Kikwete expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government for the selfless aid to his country and the contribution to the development of the basic education in Tanzania.

"It's such a beautiful primary school, you should take good care of it and you will be taken good care of here," the Tanzanian president told the students and teachers who attended the handover ceremony.

Tanzanian Minister of Education and Vocational Training Shukuru Jumanne Kawambwa stressed the importance of education for the country's development, hailing the assistance from China and the construction of the primary school by the Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co. Ltd.

For his part, George Mkuchika, Minister of State of Regional Administration and Local Governments in the Prime Minister's Office, also spoke highly of the sincere friendship of Tanzania and China, underscoring the development of regional and local governments.

Fu Jijun, Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, expressed his appreciation to the Tanzanian government for their close cooperation with the Chinese builder to complete the construction of the primary school.

He also hailed Kikwete for his attaching great importance to the education development in Tanzania, adding that many primary schools and secondary schools, as well as universities and colleges had been set up in Tanzania in the last five years.

The Chinese government is a close partner with Tanzanian government in its efforts to reach the glorious mission of furthering the development of education, said Fu, adding that Chinese President Hu Jintao announced to help friendly African countries to set up 100 primary schools in the next three years at the Beijing Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2006 and that Msoga Primary School is one of the three primary schools aided by China under the action plan of the Beijing Summit.

In 2009, on the fourth ministerial meeting of FOCAC in Egypt, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao also declared that China will help friendly Africa nations to set up more schools, and Tanzania will get another three new primary schools according to the new action plan, said Fu.

Moreover, Chinese government has also been giving Tanzanian students scholarships every year in the past decades and the Chinese universities and colleges will enroll 72 Tanzanian students for bachelor, master and doctor degrees this year.

He assured the Tanzanians that the Chinese government will continue to do its best for furthering the friendship between the two brotherly countries.

On behalf of the Chinese embassy, Fu, who later cut the ribbon for the handover ceremony together with Kikwete, donated two computers, two TV sets and 20 footballs to the primary school.

After the handover ceremony, the students will move into the new primary school to have classes, a teacher told Xinhua.

The construction of the primary school started in May 2009 and the total cost is 5 million RMB (about US$750,000).

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2011)