Nairobi — Students from Kenya's top prestigious schools were hosted at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya in an initiative to deepen ties between the two countries.
The students from Kenya High School and Alliance High School were hosted by Chinese Ambassador Zhou Pingjian who interacted freely with them in an initiative dubbed "Inside the Embassy and Ask the Ambassador".
"You are welcome to the Embassy because China is a good friend of Kenya and will continue to be a friend of Kenya," said Ambassador Zhou in welcoming the students to the Embassy.
He told the students of the strong foundation of the shared benefits between Kenya and China which celebrates 60 years of bilateral relations this year.
"The future of Kenya will always be decided by you, Kenyans. We have laid the solid foundation to better Kenya-China relations," he said.
The interactive session, the first of its kind, was mainly in the field of education and culture and helped the students understand more about Kenya and China relations.
China is Kenya's largest partner, particularly on infrastructure development which has been accelerated in recent years with the Thika Superhighway, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and now the Expressway that connects Nairobi's Central Business District area of Westlands to the main Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).According to Ambassador Zhou, education and cultural exchanges are key ingredients of China's cooperation with Kenya.
"We are very happy to host the Kenyan students on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival. It's a friendship visit to explore ways of cooperation with the Confucius Institute. We also wanted the students to feel how the Chinese embassy is working in Kenya," Zhou said.
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China sponsors Kenyan children to study in China on full scholarship.Ambassador Zhou said China has opportunities in various fields, including education, health, technology development, and manufacturing, and called on the students to pursue further studies in those fields in China.
He urged the students to seize the opportunity of good cooperation to realize their dreams.
David Kamau Chomba, the chief principal of Alliance High School, hailed the cordial relations between China and Kenya, which he said have enabled Kenyans to pursue higher education opportunities in China.
It was the same sentiments shared by Irene Omangi, the deputy chief principal of Kenya High School who said the visit marks a turning point in their cooperation with the Chinese embassy.
"Today is a turning point of our cooperation with the Chinese embassy in terms of innovation," Omangi said.
He also called on Kenyan students to explore study opportunities in China.
Students in the visit were keen to understand the Chinese economy, bilateral relations with Kenya, education opportunities, people to people exchanges among others.
Some also sought to know how the Confucius institutes at the Kenyan universities work.
