Long Zhou, the Chinese ambassador to Malawi, stated that his nation is dedicated to assisting Malawi in achieving its objectives for its digital economy.
Zhou was giving a speech in Lilongwe at the opening of a conference called Seeds for the Future that Huawei Technologies was hosting.
He expressed confidence that Huawei will use its years of ICT experience to boost Malawi’s and its citizens’ digital competitiveness.
“China will continue to open up in line with the spirit of the 20th National Congress, adhere to mutual benefit and win-win results, strengthen practical cooperation with Malawi in various fields under the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum and other frameworks, encourage more enterprises to actively fulfil their social responsibilities in Malawi and bring more tangible benefits to the people of Malawi.
“We will make new efforts and contributions to deepen bilateral relations and friendship between the two peoples and to build a community of shared destiny between China and Malawi,” Zhou said.
The number of university students participating in the Seed for the Future initiative this year is 100, up from 50 the year before.
Gu Mu, the managing director of Huawei Malawi, expressed the company’s delight at the annual flagship program’s continued success.
“Through this global programme, Huawei aims to develop skilled, local ICT talent and bridge communication gaps between countries and cultures.
“We believe that, by sharing ICT expertise and experiences in the global business environment, young people from different countries can learn about advanced technologies in the ICT industry and accumulate ICT expertise and skills,” Mu said.
The Seeds for the Future Program, according to Malawi’s Minister of Information Gospel Kazako, supports the ministry’s efforts to instill a culture of embracing digital usage and adoption at all levels.
“My ministry is currently having dialogue with the Ministry of Education to revise our curriculum to ensure that digital studies are introduced even in primary and secondary schools.
“Investment in the foundation of ICT skills is what will enable us to compete effectively with the rest of the world,” Kazako said.
Over 500 young people from Malawian universities have received training from Huawei so far as part of the Seed for the Future program in cutting-edge digital subjects like the 5G network, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.