TIANJIN, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- North China's Tianjin Municipality has introduced an action plan to strengthen cooperation with African countries in the next three years.

According to the plan, Tianjin will prompt more of its companies to invest and open factories in African countries, including a ketchup processing plant in Ghana, gold mining in Sudan and a copper and cobalt project in Zambia. Several other Africa-bound investment projects are under assessment.

The municipal government also encourages local companies to invest in infrastructure construction in Africa and for aviation companies to launch direct flights to African countries.

Construction on a marketing and exhibition center for Ugandan products in Tianjin has been stepped up, along with trade fairs for local products to enter African countries.

In the field of cultural exchange, vocational colleges are encouraged to open training workshops in countries such as Djibouti and Egypt. The city will continue to carry out martial arts training for students from Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Nigeria and Tanzania.

Support will also be offered to medical institutions to build traditional Chinese medicine centers and carry out joint research on infectious diseases in African countries. Enditem