From the left: Huo Ying, Charge D’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, The Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Prof. Robert Mayom Deng, Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba - Photo credit: Madrama James | Eye Radio

The Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, on Sunday opened the China–South Sudan High-Level Peace and Development Symposium in Juba.

The event brought together over ten scholars from the People’s Republic of China to discuss peace and development in South Sudan.

Among the participants were Huo Ying, Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Juba, and Prof. Robert Mayom Deng, Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba, along with other senior officials and academics.

In his opening speech, Dr. Lomuro applauded China’s contribution to South Sudan’s development and called for collective efforts in building peace and reconstructing the country.

“China has demonstrated through initiatives like building roads and through concrete projects here in South Sudan that partnership can transform nations. And from roadmaps to hospitals, from scholarship to technology transfer, China has stood with us in practical ways that impact our lives,” he said.

Huo Ying reaffirmed China’s commitment to supporting South Sudan’s development and long-term cooperation.

“Our embassy is working together with the South Sudanese government to steadily advance China’s grant aid projects, including Phase 2 of the Juba Teaching Hospital project. We will continue to play a constructive role within our capacity for South Sudan’s development and prosperity in the future,” she said.

“I sincerely hope that this symposium, centered on the themes of peace and development as building a community with a shared future for humanity, will offer valuable insights as a useful reference for the development of China-South Sudan relations,” she added.

For his part, Prof. Robert Mayom Deng appreciated China’s role in supporting education and national development.

“There are students who cannot afford to pay the tuition fees. And so, His Excellency, the Ambassador, is always giving us funds every year to support some of those students, which is a noble gesture.

“For somebody to train somebody, I think it’s the most important thing you can give to an individual. Not giving him food, train him so that he can be able to grow food for himself,” he said.

The symposium, held under the theme “Peace and Development: A Joint Symposium for Building a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity,” aimed to strengthen cooperation in achieving sustainable peace and development.