Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) Long Yongtu and Italian Ambassodor to China Paolo Bruni signed memoranda on the two projects in Beijing yesterday.

The two projects are the Basic Education Project in the provinces of Hainan and Jilin and Health Care for Women and Children in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Italy will provide technological and equipment support in the fields of basic education and health care and spread successful experience gained from the two projects to other western Chinese provinces and autonomous regions.

Of the 4.37 million euro, 3 million euro (US$3.18 million) worth of aid will be spent in Inner Mongolia and the rest on basic education in the other two provinces, according to MOFTEC.

Implementation of the projects will help improve local residents' education and health and promote development of the two fields in middle and western China, said Long before the signing ceremony.

China and Italy began bilateral development cooperation in 1981.

Until the end of 2002, Italy has promised free aid of US$144.7 million on 42 projects, according to MOFTEC statistics.

Thirty of these projects, involving US$94.31 million have been finished and the rest are being implemented.

These projects involve first aid and medical care, agricultural development, health care, education, protection of cultural relics and human resources development.

A MOFTEC official noted that Italy had increased the number of scholarships to 202 in 2002, offering China good opportunities to train people in the fields of agricultural development, environmental protection and water conservancy for middle and western China.

The official also emphasized the important role of Sino-Italian development co-operation in establishing and improving the medical care, health care and first aid network in middle and western China.

(China Daily January 16, 2002)