A delegation from the Multimodal Freight Management Office (OGEFREM) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) went to Qingdao, in the Chinese Shandong province (EST), for a business trip, marking an important stage in strengthening logistics cooperation between the two parties.
During a professional seminar, Lu Yujun, director of the Qingdao Municipal Transport Bureau, stressed the strategic importance of exchanges between the Chinese port city and the African continent. The city has already put into service several direct maritime lines towards the main African ports, thus creating an effective and reliable maritime logistics corridor, essential to Sino-African trade, he said.
Depending on his words, the two parties will work jointly in the creation of a Sino-African platform of highly efficient and complete integrated service, which uses advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things, BEIDOU satellite navigation, blockchain and artificial intelligence. The system will make it possible to carry out a dynamic and transparent monitoring of goods, a simplification of customs procedures, optimization of logistics costs via better coordination of maritime, rail, road and air transport.
William Kazumbo Mayombo, Director General of Ogefrem and Head of the Delegation, praised Qingdao’s impressive achievements in terms of port modernization, technological innovation and ecological development, affirming that Qingdao’s experience offered valuable solutions for the modernization of logistics infrastructure for African countries.
He also expressed his wish to benefit from a transfer of skills in port automation, the development of digital logistics platforms as well as the management of multimodal transport.
Strategic pivot of foreign trade and northern port hub of China, Qingdao recorded a volume of freight exceeding 700 million tonnes.