Chinese Ambassador pays courtesy call on President Koroma
His Excellency Zhao Yanbo paid a courtesy call on President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma on Monday 3rd February at State House, Freetown.
President Koroma and Ambassador Yanbo exchanged views on continuously strengthening the political basis of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties over forty years ago. President Koroma expressed Sierra Leone’s desire to continue to support China on the bilateral front, and also noted that China’s support to Sierra Leone could be seen all over the country. The Ambassador pointed out his wish to maintain close communication with President Koroma on major issues concerning bilateral relations and friendly cooperation in various fields, deepen mutual understanding and strategic trust between the two sides so as to safeguard the political basis for developing bilateral relations.
President Koroma also discussed China’s development assistance with Ambassador Yanbo. President Koroma reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment to continue to create the enabling environment for not only Chinese businesses, but also foreign investment as a whole. According to Ambassador Yanbo, China has provided substantial support and assistance to Sierra Leone since 1971. Key infrastructural projects ongoing in the country were highlighted by the Ambassador as testimony of the fruitful bilateral relations between the two countries. “China is willing to share with Sierra Leone experiences in such areas as agriculture, tourism, industrial park planning in order to strengthen Sierra Leone’s self-development capacities and accelerate national development”, the Chinese Ambassador said.
The President thanked the Chinese government for showing interest in promoting government programmes, especially its support to the Agenda for Change (A4C) and now the Agenda for Prosperity (A4P). “We have specific projects which are crucial to the success of the Agenda for Prosperity, including the airport project at Mamamah and the Hainan rubber and rice production project. Additionally, government attaches a lot of importance to the Youth Village which will equip the youth with the appropriate skills of international standards to meet the requirements of the job market,” the president said. “We want to make it a school of excellence to ensure our youth are marketable not just in the country but also internationally.
President Koroma also raised the issue of developing national transformational projects or a blueprint that will address development issues from a national perspective. Ambassador Yanbo called for the promotion of bilateral friendly exchanges on culture, education and media as well as expand people-to-people exchanges in order to deepen mutual understanding and consolidate public support of China-Sierra Leone relations.
He assured the president of China’s willingness to continue to provide scholarships and training opportunities for Sierra Leone, send medical teams, and implement “China-Africa People to People Friendship Action”, encourage and support exchanges between social organizations, women and youth, and encourage the Confucius Institute to play the role of being the bridge and bond for promoting friendship between the two peoples.
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