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State House, Freetown – Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, His Excellency Hu Zhangliang, has taken formal leave of His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, at the end of his three-and-a-half-year tour of duty in the country.
Ambassador Hu, while thanking the President for the opportunity accorded him to bid farewell to the government and people of the Republic of Sierra Leone, said: “His Excellency, please allow me to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the government and people of Sierra Leone for the warm hospitality you accorded me and my wife during our three years of service in this beautiful country”.
“I am grateful to His Excellency your brother, President Xi Jinping, for giving me the opportunity and privilege to represent the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Sierra Leone. I am pleased to peacefully carry out the policy decisions and instructions of His Excellency Xi Jinping and the Chinese government to fully promote the China-Sierra Leone friendship,” he said.
The outgoing Chinese Ambassador commended Sierra Leone for its cooperation with the Chinese side in upholding world peace and stability through international justice and equity and common interest. He congratulated President Bio for fulfilling his government’s commitment to human capital development, stressing, “You are making laudable achievements in socio-economic development and diplomatic endeavours under trying conditions”.
“I fully agree with Your Excellency in describing China and Sierra Leone as reliable friends, and I can assure you that China will always take Sierra Leone as a reliable friend and will do our best to provide our support and assistance. The China-Sierra Leone relationship will always grow from strength to strength, and I am sure that your government and people of Sierra Leone will provide strong support to the new Chinese Ambassador,” he stated.
In his remarks, President Julius Maada Bio thanked the outgoing Chinese Ambassador, on behalf of himself, his family, the government and the people of Sierra Leone, for all that he had done to strengthen their profound bilateral relationship.
“We will miss you quite a lot, but as your tour of duty comes to an end, you have to go to another place. I sincerely want to register our profound gratitude to you and ask that you please convey my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to His Excellency President Xi Jinping, for all that he has done to strengthen our relationship. We are two friends, reliable and dependable, and you can always count on Sierra Leone, as it has been over the years,” he said.
President Bio also noted that they had counted on China as a reliable friend, adding that Ambassador Hu’s tenure had been very eventful and that he would go down in history as the ambassador who deepened many spheres of cooperation between the two countries.
“Thank you very much, as you go. I wish you good luck. I hope that you will always consider Sierra Leone as your home and that you will always come back,” he concluded.
