The Chinese government supports the peace process in Africa's Great Lakes region as always and is ready to play a constructive role with the international community for the region's peace, stability and development, a senior Chinese diplomat has said.

Assistant Foreign Minister of China, Zhai Jun, has made the statement while attending the ministerial meeting of the International Conference on the Great Lakes region in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. It was followed by the second summit of the conference on Thursday to try to usher in more peace and prosperity to the area.

"The developments of the peace process in Africa's Great Lakes region is not easy to come and is closely related to Africa's peace and stability," Zhai said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

He noted that the Chinese government is very glad to see gratifying developments made by the Great Lakes region in the fields of shaking off turmoil and conflicts and jointly pursuing peace and development. Beijing hopes that the countries of the region and related parties will commit themselves to regional peace, good neighborly friendship and common development on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zhai stressed that the Pact on Security, Stability and Development for the Great Lakes Region to be signed in the summit shows the countries of the area are working for peace and stability. Taking the pact as a program of action for regional peace and development will help remove regional conflicts, accelerate post-war reconstruction and realize enduring stability and sustained development in the region.

China has maintained the traditional friendly and cooperative relations with the countries of the Great Lakes region. "We have offered helps as far as our capacity allows to the countries to realize peace and economic development, bringing benefits to the people," said Zhai.

Ten of the eleven core countries of the Great Lakes Region sent their heads of state or government to the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) last month. Chinese President Hu Jintao announced eight new measures for enhancing pragmatic China-Africa cooperation and improving Africa's capability for independent development.

Zhai said the Chinese government is willing to promote the Sino- African ties within the framework of the forum.

"China will realize the eight measures, increase its assistance to the Great Lakes Region countries, encourage Chinese enterprises' investment and strengthen the nations' ability of independent development," Zhai said.

According to the introduction of the Great Lakes conference's web site, the core countries of the region are Angola, Burundi, the Central Africa Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The Great Lakes region boasts of the intensely-dispersed mineral resources, including copper, gold, cobalt, diamond, oil, natural gas and wood, but it is also regarded as one of the most volatile areas in the world with long-running conflicts between ethnic groups and between governments and rebel troops.

The area has seen encouraging progresses in recent years. Burundi has maintained political stability since its new government took office while the Democratic Republic of Congo entered a new stage of national rebuilding after the inauguration of its new president.

Source: Xinhua