By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
FREETOWN, July 25 (232news.com) – During a telephone conversation between the Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi had and Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister David Francis at the latter’s request on July 19, 2022, David Francis told Wang Yi that “Sierra Leone will continue to stand with China on issues related to its core interests and major concerns”.
Speaking on behalf of Sierra Leone, Francis thanked the Chinese government and people for the valuable help they have provided to Sierra Leone’s economic and social development for a long time, especially offering timely-needed assistance after the outbreak of the pandemic and helping small and medium-sized countries, including Sierra Leone, to fight the pandemic.
“Sierra Leone highly agrees with China’s adherence to the concept of putting development and people first, and positively evaluates China’s leading role in maintaining world peace and security. Sierra Leone looks forward to deepening cooperation with China in various fields, and Chinese enterprises are welcome to invest in Sierra Leone.”
Wang Yi said that China and Sierra Leone are good friends and old friends. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Sierra Leone relations have maintained a strong momentum for development. The two sides have cooperated closely and supported each other in jointly fighting the pandemic, promoting economic recovery and upholding international fairness and justice, which reflects the high level of bilateral relations.
“We appreciate that Sierra Leone has always supported China in safeguarding our core interests, and China also firmly supports Sierra Leone in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and national dignity, in its various efforts to promote national development, and in playing a more important role in Africa and the international arena. China will continue to provide support and assistance in accordance with the development needs of Sierra Leone, so as to promote cooperation in mining, agriculture and infrastructure, implement more livelihood projects, encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Sierra Leone, help Sierra Leone improve its capacity for self-driven development and accelerate the industrialization,” Chinese Foreign Minister said.
Francis introduced the position of Sierra Leone on the Ukraine issue, saying that as a small war-torn country, Sierra Leone advocates for peaceful settlement of disputes through political negotiations and believes that it is imperative to pay attention to the reasonable security concerns of all parties and find a long-term solution, and at the same time practical measures should be taken to alleviate the impacts of food and energy shortages on small and medium-sized countries.
Wang Yi said that Sierra Leone’s view is also the consensus of most developing countries. China will remain firmly committed to persuading peace and promoting talks, and working with all parties to do its utmost to mitigate the negative spillover effects of the Ukraine crisis.
