China will fund construction of the University of Cape Verde’s new campus, the Cape Verde Government announced last week. China’s Ambassador to Cape Verde, Du Xiaocong, confirmed China’s involvement in a meeting last Wednesday with the African nation’s Prime Minister, José Maria Neves, said a press release issued by the Cape Verde Government.

“This is another great moment in our [Sino-Cape Verdean] relations,” Mr Neves said, as quoted in the official release.

The Prime Minister added that construction of the new campus would start in 2016.

It would be “a great advantage for the archipelago and for the Cape Verdean youth,” he added.

Mr Neves said the project’s technical and funding details would still have to be discussed, so he could not as yet reveal the project’s budget.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Mr Du stressed the strong friendship ties between the peoples from the two nations. He added bilateral co-operation would be further enhanced thanks to the new agreement sealed between China and African nations during the Second Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held this month in Johannesburg, South Africa.

China’s President, Xi Jinping, announced during the meeting that the Asian country would offer US$60 billion to Africa to help fund 10 new co-operation and development programmes in the coming three years.