Opinion

On September 27 1983, 39 years ago from now, President Kim Il Sung made a historic speech For the Development of the National Culture of the Newly-Emerging Countries before ministers attending the First Conference of Ministers of Education and Culture of Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries held in Pyongyang.

In the speech, the President said that the development of national education is an important task for building national culture and set forth concrete ways and means for the development of education including the issue of giving priority to national education.

He had long paid special attention to the development of national education in African countries struggling to oppose all manner of domination and subordination and create a new independent life, and rendered both moral and material support to them.

He sent our able technicians to several countries like Somalia, Sao Tome and Principe and Sudan to build schools and children’s halls, and even provided them with school things and education facilities. He also took benevolent measures for university students of Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Guinea and other countries to come to our country and learn about various fields such as agriculture, public health, construction and electrical engineering.

In December 1994, a ceremony was held to name BanBin kindergarten in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Kim Il Sung kindergarten, in high praise of the noble exploits the President performed for the educational development of African countries. In several countries like Mali and Tanzania, classes and libraries named after him appeared in succession.

Having recognized the importance of education in the struggle to achieve social development and prosperity of the country, African countries are now taking practical measures to eliminate the colonial remnants in the field of education and to increase the state interest and investment in education.

We will, as ever, continue to exert every possible effort to further expand and develop the long-standing and traditional relations of friendship and cooperation with African countries in education and other sectors.