Mr. Soungui Ahmed, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Chad to China (CELINE LANGE)

On August 11, 2010, the Republic of Chad celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence, an exciting milestone for the West African nation. But the 6th of this month marks another landmark: the fourth anniversary of the restoration of Sino-Chadian diplomatic relations. Before these great anniversaries, Ambassador of Chad to China, Soungui Ahmed, sat down in an exclusive interview with ChinAfrica reporter Gui Gui and shared his views on these events and other issues. Excerpts follow:

ChinAfrica: How do you see the progress African countries achieved over the past five decades in terms of the evolution from political independence to economic independence? What is the perspective of younger generations on this question?

Soungui Ahmed: Indeed, 50 years ago, most African countries gained their national sovereignty and took their destiny in hand. They've managed to cope with this new responsibility.

But just like in everything else, the beginning is always a little difficult. Some countries were better suited than others. Ours has had many problems since the independence. We've had some internal struggles for power, faced foreign interference, etc. During the 50 years of independence, we have spent 40 years in a very difficult situation. The presidents, of which we now have our fifth since the independence, have done all that they could for the country's development. However, the younger generations, born after independence, could not enjoy this freedom. They are often called the "sacrificed generation."

But for the past 15 years, we've felt a remarkable progress. Living conditions have improved. We have restored and built schools and hospitals. Each prefecture or sub-prefecture must have its own hospital, and eight universities have been built. The current government of President Idriss Deby Itno is the source of most of these achievements.

How do you view Sino-Chadian relations since the restoration of their diplomatic relations?

Our country was among the first to establish diplomatic relations with China. At some point, we found ourselves in a situation of misunderstanding, partly due to political disturbances that agitated the country, which led us to a temporary break. Since 2006, all that is forgotten. Our relations are quite satisfactory and are developing very quickly. In these years, cooperation has been very beneficial for both sides and especially for Chad. China helps us to build schools, hospitals and roads. It also helps us to exploit our oil and to build a refinery, which allows us to increase the national income and support the development of the country.

On behalf of our government, I want to most sincerely thank the People's Republic of China.

The first Chad-China Joint Economic, Commercial and Technological Commission was successfully held in April. What  bilateral cooperative projects were discussed?

The first commission was successfully held in N'Djamena. China has promised to build [the building for] our National Assembly, donated 1.5 million yuan ($221,566) to Chad for purchasing food and provided two preferential loans of 80 million ($11.82 million) and 70 million yuan ($10.34 million) to fund projects that the Chadian Government will choose independently. Another agreement, no less important, is on trade. China has granted exemptions from customs duties for certain products exported to it. The exemptions will be up to 95 percent.

Which areas of Chad's economy are in most urgent need of  investment?

The most urgent needs are large investment [projects], such as building roads and prospecting for mineral resources like gold, diamonds, iron and manganese. So we need big companies to achieve these goals. We also need means of transportation.

Some from Western countries and even Africa have criticized the  cooperation between China and African countries, believing it is not sustainable for China to plunder natural resources in Africa while investing in the continent. In your opinion, does the current Sino-Chadian cooperation help promote the development goals of Chad?

This is pure and simple propaganda. We have been independent for 50 years. During those years we had close ties with "preferred partners," namely, our former colonizers, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. These European countries have, however, a very selfish attitude, that is to say, to take but give nothing.

In recent years, China has offered Africa an alternative in cooperation with a win-win principle. African countries are all interested. The preferred partners, noticing the growing presence of China in Africa, are alarmed by what she [is doing] on the continent. However, enabling [us] to explore our resources [means] allowing us to earn money. This helps to establish schools, feed the population and increase the quality of their lives.

Our lifestyle has changed a lot in Africa. This lifestyle requires the means that we don't have. China offers them to us; we accept.

What is your government's idea of sustainable development of Chad?

Let the people be happy. We cannot reach the European level in only one day, but we are trying to follow the example of countries such as India, China and Brazil. We are perfectly adapted to their development mode. The important thing is to develop our means of communication, education, health facilities, and agriculture to feed the population. Having beautiful buildings is not important for us.

Furthermore, our President Idriss Deby has actively supported the initiative of the "Great Green Wall," (an initiative designed to help stop the encroachment of the Sahara Desert). On June 17 last year, he convened a meeting of all Sahelian countries, from Senegal to Djibouti, to discuss the issue. These are major concerns for our country. We are destroying the environment and it puts our future in danger. Our Department of Environment is responsible for implementing protection policies, especially against felling trees. We also encourage people to plant trees to mitigate the spread of the desert. Our actions are recent, but our country is very advanced in this area compared to other African countries.