Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has underscored the importance of education for developing countries, pledging to deepen cooperation with China in vocational and technological education. In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) broadcast on Friday, the East African country's leader reflected on his long-standing commitment to education, describing it as a national priority in an era defined by science and technology. "It's my passion for education. When I graduated from university as a young man, I started teaching in secondary school all the way to becoming director of a university. The only profession I've ever known was education. Never had any other profession until the day I joined the politics a decade ago," said the president. During his tenure, Somalia has rebuilt its public education system and restored the country’s national university, providing free access to underprivileged students, according to Mohamud. "The educational service here in Somalia, since I came, we reopened and reestablished the public education. There was no public education, only private education was there. Now we have public schools whereby the low-income people, the poor people can send their kids free of charge starting from primary all the way to the university. We reopened Somali National University in my last term in 2014, 2015. And now it's a full-fledged university with more than a dozen faculties and having campuses in different parts of Somalia," said Mohamud. Looking ahead, the president said Somalia is placing greater emphasis on technical and vocational training, an area where cooperation with China could be particularly valuable. "Now, by developing the human capital in the education sector, in the training, what we are now focusing is the technical and vocational education, whereby China can help us a lot, and that is where we have also requested China to support, in terms of technology transfer, the new modern technology of doing things. So, technology. Today, the world is technology, and technical and vocational education is a priority for us, and that's where we are focusing right now," he said.
Somalia values education, aims to develop human capital: president
The erroneous remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding China's Taiwan region have cast a shadow over Japan's tourism and economy, particularly in the Kansai region where businesses rely heavily on Chinese visitors and trade with China, said a Japanese professor.
During a recent parliamentary hearing, Takaichi cited the so-called "survival-threatening situation" -- a trigger designed by the controversial 2015 law -- and linked it to the Taiwan question, suggesting Japan might treat the Taiwan question as grounds for military involvement under the legislation.
Tadashi Horiguchi, a professor at the Osaka Metropolitan University, said that the number of Chinese tourists coming to visit Japan has fallen since November, and the prolonged decline could hit hotels, transport and local businesses in the Kansai region.
"Following Takaichi's remarks, I've noticed that the number of tourists coming from China has been declining since November. Osaka nowadays is a place that mainly focuses on developing its tourism industry. If this situation persists, it will have a big impact on tourism-related industries in the Kansai region, such as accommodation, transportation, local specialty products, and home appliances. If the decline continues for a long time, I believe it will have a very significant impact on economy in the Kansai region," said Horiguchi.
Horiguchi warned that the impact could extend to other industries in the Kansai region, given the region's close trade ties with China.
"Trade relations with China are of great importance to Osaka's economy, and the region has maintained close exchanges with China in fields such as IT and electronic components. If the issue continues, the impact on the economy in the Kansai region may grow," said Horiguchi.
The professor also said that Takaichi's erroneous remarks could affect the willingness to study in Japan among Chinese students, an important group in Japanese universities, and bring negative impacts to Japan's higher education and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
"At present, the number of Chinese students studying in Japan exceeds 100,000 each year, accounting for about 30 to 40 percent of all foreign students in Japan. If political relations between Japan and China worsen, the willingness of Chinese students to study in Japan will decline, which could even affect the long-term development of Japan-China friendship," said Horiguchi.
"I hope that Takaichi will show respect for Japan-China friendship. By showing such an attitude, it would not only help improve relations between the two countries, but also contribute to peace in East Asia and the wider world," Horiguchi added.
Japanese PM's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan weigh on Kansia's economy
