Senegal bestows top award upon Chinese medical team for their service

DAKAR, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The 14 members of the 19th batch of the Chinese medical team have received the National Order of the Lion, Senegal's highest distinction.

All the Chinese team members received an honorable certificate issued by the Senegalese government during a ceremony held Thursday in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, which was attended by local health officials and professionals, and diplomats, including Senegalese Minister of Health and Social Action Marie Khemesse Ngom Ndiaye, and Rong Weidong, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Senegal.

Ndiaye thanked the Chinese medical team for their contribution to the health of the Senegalese people and praised members of the Chinese medical team for their cooperation, dedication and hard work. She said that the valuable assistance from the medical team once again demonstrated the good cooperation between Senegal and China.

Rong paid tribute to the members of the Chinese medical team, congratulating them on the success of their mission. He said that the cooperation between China and Senegal in the field of health has been fruitful and they have made important contributions to the development of relations between the two countries.

The National Order of the Lion, established in 1960, is the highest order in Senegal awarded for distinguished contributions, both civil and military.

China sent its first medical aid team to Senegal in 1975. Over the past 48 years, more than 300 Chinese medical personnel have provided medical care to nearly 2 million Senegalese patients.