The Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, His Excellency Chen Xiaodong on behalf of the government and people of the People’s Republic of China extended sincere fraternal greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Sierra Leone, while congratulating Sierra Leone’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Kaifala Marah for his recent appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. ‘‘I am here to further broaden and deepen the existing bilateral relations and to affirm our commitment to agreements reached between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Sierra Leone’’, Chen Xiaodong concluded.

The Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, accompanied by the Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone, Wu Peng and top officials of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Wednesday paid a courtesy call on Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Kaifala Marah at his Tower Hill office in Freetown as part of his visit to the West African country.

Welcoming the Chinese Foreign envoy and entourage to the Ministry, Dr. Kaifala Marah underscored the significance of the visit of the Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister to the Republic of Sierra Leone, which is aimed at broadening and deepening the existing bilateral relations between the two countries. Dr. Marah lauded the contributions of the Chinese government in enhancing the socio-economic development of the country, particularly, following the official visit of His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma to China in 2016. He further dilated on the long-standing bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Sierra Leone spanning a period of 47 years. Dr. Kaifala Marah expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to the Chinese government for their support and assistance to the Republic of Sierra Leone during the Ebola scourge in 2014-2015 and the mudslide and flood disaster that struck Freetown on August 14, 2017.

The two Foreign Ministers discussed several issues aimed at enhancing the existing bilateral relations and furthering cooperation on multilateral issues including the reforms of the UN Security Council and FOCAC, with the Republic of Sierra Leone. They further emphasized the need to cooperate on issues of common interest, particularly on economic development. They underscored the significance of broadening their engagements and scaling up cooperation in areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, and education.

Abu Bakarr Kargbo is a Senior Staff Writer of Standard Times Newspaper in Sierra Leone