Kenyan alumni of Chinese universities have expressed gratitude for encouragement given by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a reply letter and vowed to work harder to contribute more to the friendship and prosperity of both nations.

"We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for the gracious response from President Xi to the letter from representatives and alumni of Kenyan students at Beijing Jiaotong University," Henry Kibet Rotich, chairman of Kenya-China Alumni Association, in Nairobi, Kenya, said on Thursday.

"The congratulatory message resonates deeply with the joy we share in appreciating the invaluable education we received in China."

In the reply letter last week, Xi encouraged representatives and alumni of Kenyan students at Beijing Jiaotong University to contribute to China-Kenya friendship and bilateral cooperation. He also applauded the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in Kenya, describing the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway as a flagship project and a successful example of the two countries jointly carrying out BRI.

Rotich said the Kenya-China Alumni Association recognizes the significance of the Belt and Road projects, particularly the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, as a "railway of happiness". The China-built 480-kilometer railway, put into operation in May 2017, considerably reduces travel time between Kenya's two largest cities.

The association, which comprises of about 1,500 members, is committed to shaping the future of both China and Kenya through infrastructure development and cultural diplomacy, Rotich said, adding that the association is currently working on projects that will further put to use the knowledge and expertise the alumni have acquired from their studies in China.

"Our goal is to further explore the potential of the symbiotic relationship between Kenya and China," he said. "We would like to express our best wishes for the enduring friendship between Kenya and China."

Concilia Owire, Kenya's first female locomotive driver who studied locomotive engineering at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China's Sichuan province and Beijing Jiaotong University, now works at Afristar, the operation company of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, said she is very excited and honored to hear the news that President Xi mentioned the railway in his reply letter.

Meanwhile, she also feels more responsibility to ensure the smooth and successful operation of the railway as now most of the staff running the railway are Kenyans after receiving training from Chinese experts.

"I also feel more responsibility now," she said. "When we started operating six years ago, we had more Chinese experts helping us. But in recent years Chinese experts slowly pulled back and we are taking on more tasks. That is why we need to keep up the standards the Chinese experts had and make sure the operation of the railway is successful."

She also said she wishes to see the railway extended to Kenya's neighboring countries, such as Uganda, so it plays a more important role to connect people and facilitate cargo transport.

Mercyline Nasike Mang'oli, who studied for a Master's Degree between 2016 and 2019 in China's Nanjing Normal University and now teaches Chinese language at the Confucius Institute at Egerton University, Kenya, said she was moved by President Xi's words in his letter and is more determined to contribute to the friendship between the two countries.

"To me China is my second home. I hope that by teaching my students the different aspects of Chinese language and culture, they can also take up the role of being the ambassadors of friendship between the two countries," she said.