On 12 October, Chinese Ambassador Liu Guijin was invited to attend the Donor Round Table Discussion Session organized by the Department for Public Service and Administration of South Africa, and briefed the audience on the cooperation in human resources development between China and South Africa at the session.

Ambassador Liu said, South Africa is China's key partner of strategic cooperation in Africa, and the cooperation in human resources development between China and SA is a priority area in the bilateral relations. On this context, the Chinese Government has donated RMB 5 million to SA for its human resources development projects, including a Chinese language training program for 13 local tourist guides who just completed an experiential placement in Beijing for two months a few days ago. Ambassador Liu pointed out, in this June, during the official visit to SA by the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Government reaffirmed to support South Africa's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative(ASGISA)and Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition(JIPSA), and decided to donate another RMB 20 million to SA for its human resources development projects. In addition, the Chinese Government is committed to training 300 professionals for South Africa in economic and administrative management, civil engineering and Chinese language tour guide over the next three years.

Ambassador Liu also said, from 2004 to 2005, 47 South African government officials and technical personnel went to China to attend 18 seminars and vocational courses in such fields as telecommunication management, Chinese language training, investment promotion, agricultural development and anti-poverty, which won acclaim from the South African side.

Some officials from UNDP, Canadian Development Centre, US Embassy, French Embassy, German Embassy and etc. attended the discussion session.