The Chinese embassy in South Sudan on Tuesday donated food to the top Islamic Council in the youngest nation.
Ma Qiang, Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan, said during the donation ceremony in Juba, the capital of South Sudan that the embassy attaches great importance to exchanges and cooperation with the Muslims of South Sudan.
“The Chinese embassy attaches great importance to exchanges and cooperation with the Muslims of South Sudan, and is willing to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, enhance the people-to-people connectivity between the two countries, and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind in the new era,” Ma said.
The Chinese embassy donated a batch of rice, flour and sunflower oil to the Muslim community in the aftermath of Eid al-Fitr, the festival of breaking the fast that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Ma noted that China has a Muslim population of more than 20 million among 10 of it’s 56 ethnic groups.
The majority of Chinese Muslims live in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Ma disclosed that Sheikh Abdallah Baraj Rwal, the secretary general of the Islamic Council of South Sudan visited Xinjiang at the invitation of the Chinese side, where he witnessed the social stability, economic prosperity, ethnic harmony and freedom of religious belief.
Abdallah Baraj Rwal, secretary general of the Islamic Council of South Sudan, said that South Sudanese Muslims are benefiting from the existing bilateral cooperation and people-to-people relations between the countries.
“The government of China has strong bilateral relations with the government of South Sudan, and that relationship includes people in the two countries. The Muslim community in South Sudan is benefiting from the Chinese support, and this support will improve the existing friendship we have with the Chinese people,” Baraj said.