On the afternoon of July 18, 2012, Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks at the Great Hall of the People with his Djibouti counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh, who is in Beijing for a visit and to attend the opening ceremony of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

In his talks with Guelleh, Hu said Chinese and Djibouti people have fostered a profound friendship despite the long distance and distinct national conditions. China appreciates the government of Djibouti for the help it provides to Chinese naval fleets which are conducting escorting missions in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali waters, Hu said.

Hu pointed out that with the deepening of bilateral ties, cooperation between the two countries has been increasingly enriched. Calling Djibouti "an important partner of China," Hu said China wants to work with Djibouti to push forward the bilateral relations in the following three aspects: Firstly, to enhance mutual political trust, enhance bilateral and multilateral consultations and continue to support each other on major issues of respective concerns. China attaches great importance to the active role Djibouti has played on the Somali issue and other regional issues, and is ready to strengthen consultation and coordination with Djibouti on major international and regional issues so as to safeguard the rights of developing countries and promote regional peace, Hu said. Secondly, to expand economic and trade cooperation, establish a bilateral mixed committee on economy and trade and enhance cooperation planning. China encourages enterprises to invest in Djibouti and participate in the infrastructure construction there so as to support the economic and social development and improvement of people's livelihood in the country, Hu said. Thirdly, to boost cultural and personal exchanges. The two sides should make full use of bilateral channels and mechanisms like Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China-Arab States Cooperation Forum to increase cooperation in areas such as culture, education, health, and personnel training and consolidate the public foundation of bilateral friendship, Hu said.

In response, Guelleh thanked China for its help towards the economic and social development of Djibouti. He said the Djibouti people hold friendly feelings towards China and hope to learn from China's successful experience of development. Djibouti welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in the construction of port, railway and highway as well as in energy development, and expand personnel and merchandise exchange in East Africa by making use of Djibouti's geographical advantages so as to promote regional integration, said Guelleh.

He also talked about the situation in the East African region and the efforts Djibouti has made to promote Somali peace process, expressing the hope for China's understanding and support on this issue.

Prior to the talks, President Hu held a welcome ceremony for Guelleh at the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People. State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission of China Zhang Ping, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming and Chinese Ambassador to Djibouti Zhang Guoqing attended the welcome ceremony.