Eritrea gets $23m Chinese loan
2006-04-12 22:16
Asmara - Eritrea says it has signed an accord for a $23m (about R150m) loan from China, as the Horn of Africa state and the Chinese government strengthen their ties.
China has been gradually extending its influence and links with many nations in Africa, which it views as a rich source of raw materials needed to power its economy.
The Eritrean information ministry's website, shabait.com, said the loan was "payable over a long period of time", but did not specify for what the money was destined.
The website read: "On the basis of Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki's visit to China from February 17 to 24 last year, and the agreements reached in different development and economic programmes, the government of the People's Republic of China extended a loan amounting to $23m."
The loan agreement was signed by Eritrea's national development minister, Woldai Futur, and China's ambassador in Asmara, Ju Zian, on Tuesday.
Eritrea is expected to begin mining gold and other minerals in 2008, but interests between the two states may go deeper.
Chinese construction links
On his visit to China last year - a rare foreign foray which also included Pakistan - Afwerki reportedly visited a military college.
Six months later, Eritrea received a senior military delegation from China.
In March, Afwerki welcomed Chinese construction officials and expressed a desire for stronger economic ties.
Despite rapid growth since official independence in 1993, Eritrea's economy has stagnated since a border war with Ethiopia, that killed 70 000 people from 1998 to 2000.
Eritrea says it is frustrated by the world's failure to force Ethiopian compliance with a subsequent 2002 border ruling, and the country has been turning its back on many in the international community.
Since July last year, the Red Sea state, one of the world's poorest countries, has ejected the United States agency for international development, western United Nations peacekeepers, an Italian diplomat and several international charities.
Africa's most newly-independent nation also has cut back sharply on food-aid distribution, citing a policy of self-reliance.