São Tomé and Príncipe wants to boost tourism with the support of China and has started the process leading to a bilateral free movement agreement to transform the archipelago into a “reception point for Chinese tourists,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Communities said on Monday in São Tomé.

“Favourable conditions are being established for mobility of citizens of São Tomé and China in the two territories,” said Minister Urbino Botelho, who stressed that “tourism can gain a new dynamism, with São Tomé and Príncipe becoming a host country for the Chinese tourists who want to visit our islands.”

Just over a month ago, the China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC) expressed interest in taking part in the project to modernise and expand the international airport in São Tomé and Príncipe in order to increase international flights as a way of relaunching tourism.

São Tomé and Príncipe and China are now outlining areas of intervention for the framework cooperation programme due to be signed shortly, following the re-establishment last December of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, São Tomé and Príncipe and China signed a cooperation protocol in the area of health, to officialise the work of the Chinese medical team that has been in São Tomé for about two months.

The business attaché to the People’s Republic of China, Wang Wei, said signing the protocol aims to establish conditions for the team of Chinese doctors in São Tomé to work officially in hospitals. (macauhub)