Chinese, Togolese leaders mark 40th anniversary of ties

Chinese President Hu Jintao exchanged congratulatory messages Wednesday with his Togolese counterpart, Faure Gnassingbe, to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Over the past four decades, the two countries have worked for sincere friendship, treated each other as equals, and sought mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, said Hu in his message.

As a result, China-Togo relations have progressed healthily and smoothly, serving as a good example of South-South cooperation, said Hu.

China is willing to work with Togo to strengthen friendly exchanges and expand pragmatic cooperation in a bid to continuously push their relations to higher levels for the benefits of the two peoples, he said.

For his part, Gnassingbe said Togo-China relations, which are based on political equality and mutual trust, and economic mutual benefits and win-win results, have helped promote common development and prosperity of the two countries.

Over the past 40 years, Togo and China have improved the well-being of the two peoples thanks to exchanges and cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, health and education, he added.

He pledged that his country will work with the Chinese side for common prosperity of the two nations.

Also on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi exchanged congratulatory messages with his Togolese counterpart, Eliott Ohin.