China urges Côte d’Ivoire to introduce Mandarin in school curriculum

China’s ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire has expressed Beijing’s desire to see the West African country introduce Mandarin in schools as the Asian country seeks to boost ties with Abidjan.

“The Embassy will continue to work closely with relevant parties and strengthen communication with the Ivorian government to strive for the inclusion of Chinese language teaching in the national education system of Côte d’Ivoire,” said Wan Li during a scholarship program for 133 laureates for the 2022-2023 academic year.

“China is willing to work with Côte d’Ivoire, within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, to continue to provide more facilities for closer exchanges and deeper mutual inspiration between the youth of the two countries, which will contribute to better and faster development of China-Côte d’Ivoire relations,” the Chinese diplomat added.

Côte D’Ivoire has currently allowed the teaching of English, German and Spanish in public school from junior secondary school and senior high school.