PRESIDENT Mugabe returned home yesterday from a successful conference of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, where Harare and Beijing agreed to establish a new developmental assistance package.

Speaking at Harare International Airport soon after arrival early yesterday morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi — who accompanied President Mugabe to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the meeting — said the Zimbabwean delegation was pleased with proceedings at the summit.

"It was a very successful meeting and we are pleased with the manner in which co-operation between Africa and China is developing.

"At the last summit in Beijing in 2006, China pledged to assist in a number of ways and so far 95 percent of those promises have been fulfilled.

"We are confident that by the end of the year all the targets will have been met," Minister Mumbengegwi said.

Among the developmental projects China is on the verge of completing in Zimbabwe are the construction of a rural school (one is already complete), a hospital and an agricultural demonstration centre at Gwebi College.

Minister Mumbengegwi said Beijing would augment this by training teachers and other personnel, especially in the agricultural sector.

President Mugabe was welcomed at the airport by Vice President Joice Mujuru; Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa; Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu, service chiefs and senior Government officials.

His delegation included Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube and his International Co-operation counterpart Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

On Sunday, the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces held bilateral talks with Egyptian leader and conference co-chair President Hosni Mubarak.

While full details of that meeting were not available at the time of writing, a well-placed source said the talks had "gone exceedingly well" and the two had discussed how they could further co-operation at a bilateral level and through the ambit of FOCAC.

President Mugabe and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held bilateral talks on Saturday, during which the leaders agreed on establishing a new developmental package for Zimbabwe.

Government and Chinese Embassy officials said finer details of the proposed package would be thrashed out soon at a relevant forum.

In his address to the opening session of the meeting on Sunday morning, President Mugabe said China’s partnership with Africa provided the best example of how countries should relate globally at the economic, political and cultural levels.

President Mugabe hailed China-Africa ties, saying the emerging superpower had managed to build a robust economy without resorting to looting and plundering the developing world like the West had done.

He said China’s economic miracle was an inspiration to the rest of the world.

Prime Minister Wen said China would assist Africa with a US$10 billion loan facility among other initiatives over the next three years, with those countries with diplomatic ties with Beijing set to benefit.