On January 5, 2023, the handover ceremony of the China-aided Sierra Leone Foreign Service Academy was held in Freetown. H.E. President Julius Maada Bio, First Lady Fatima Bio, Ecowas Speaker Tunis, Chief Minister Jusu, Foreign Affairs Minister Francis,other ministers,Members of Parliamentarians, Chinese Ambassador Wang Qing, the head of the contractor China Railway Seventh Group Company and Members of the diplomatic corps attended the ceremony.

Ambassador Wang said that under the strategic guidance of H.E. President Xi Jinping and H.E. President MaadaBio, China-Sierra Leone cooperation has achieved fruitful results and made new progress. With the relentless efforts of the two countries the building was completed on time and was handed over as a Christmas and New Year gift from China to Sierra Leone,which fully reflects that China and Sierra Leone are good friends, good brothers, and good partners. China is willing to work with Sierra Leone to implement the important consensus reached by the two Heads of State, promote the development of China-Sierra LeoneComprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and usher in a better tomorrow for our relations in the new era.

President Bio conveyed his sincere gratitude toPresident Xi Jinping for China’s generosity and commitment to supporting his country’s sustainable development and socioeconomic transformation. The two countrieshave registered significant progress of cooperation in the areas of health, agriculture, education, infrastructure and defense, etc. The Foreign Service Academyis another testament to the mutually beneficial cooperation, shared vision and ever-deepening relations between the two countries and two peoples.

Later on, President Bio and Ambassador Wang cut the ribbon for the Foreign Service Academy and took a conducted tour of the ultra-modern building.