On the evening of July 2, 2021, Beijing Time, the online opening ceremony of “Capacity Enhancement Seminar for Benin Judicial Officials” sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and organized by MOFCOM Training Base for International Business Officials (Shanghai) (hereinafter referred to Shanghai Training Base) was launched. Chen Runyun, Vice President of Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO), Ministry of Commerce, Duan Weihua, Deputy Director of No. 2 Project Management Office, Zhang Bohui, Counsellor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy to Benin, He Ying, Vice President of Shanghai Business School (SBS), and Chen Wei, Vice President of School of International Education, SBS, attended the ceremony.

Chen runyun pointed out that in recent years, the Chinese government has carried out effective exploration in judicial system reform with a positive and pragmatic attitude. At the same time, China is also actively participating in global judicial cooperation, especially between China and Africa. He said, the seminar is a pragmatic measure for China and Benin to focus on research, exchange and cooperation on the improvement of judicial personnel’s ability, and enhance the political literacy and professional level of judicial officials under the Belt and Road initiative. By sharing with Benin China’s development process and experience in judicial system reform, the seminar will help Beninese judicial personnel improve their law enforcement ability, promote the scientific, standardized and procedural law enforcement, and help the further development of cooperation between China and Benin in the post epidemic era.

Zhang Bohui attended the opening ceremony on behalf of Ambassador Peng Jingtao. He said that the cooperation between China and Benin covered a wide range of fields. Since President Patrice Talon took office in April 2017, Benin has entered a new development stage that has never been experienced since its independence. China is willing to accompany Beninese in the whole process of its development. He hoped that the seminar would become a platform to share China’s experience in the judicial field since the reform and opening up, enhance the development of bilateral relations between China and Benin, and create more economic and social miracles for both sides.

He Ying said that China’s Belt and Road initiative has changed from vision to reality, and its fruitful results are beneficial to the whole world. The Belt and Road initiative has brought new opportunities for the development of relations between China and Benin. With the increasingly close economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, the demand for judicial cooperation between the two countries is also expanding. Under the Belt and Road initiative, China is willing to share with Benin the experience gained in the field of justice, work hand in hand to promote the reform of the judicial system, improve the mechanism of power restriction and supervision, protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, maintain social harmony and stability, and continuously promote the rule of law for all the work.

Mr. Wilfred ARABA, Director of the Documents and Research Department of the Supreme Court of Benin, spoke on behalf of all the students. He said that since 2016, the Supreme Court of Benin and the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China have begun to establish cooperation and exchange relations, and the seminar would be a new example of cooperation between the two sides. He appreciated China’s efforts and hoped to learn from this seminar the advanced experience of China in the field of justice.

This seminar is the first online bilateral foreign aid training program held by our school under the pandemic situation. The 21-day seminar is currently attended by 16 government officials from the Supreme Court of Benin, Cotonou Commercial Court, Natitingou Court of First Instance, Djougou Secondary Court of First Instance and other departments.

(Contributed by: Business Training Center)