The Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security and the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation aimed at improving labour law compliance, enhancing institutional capacity and fostering a more conducive investment climate for Chinese businesses operating in the country.
The renewed commitment was made during a courtesy visit by Chinese Counsellor, Peng Wang, to the Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security, Mohamed Rahman Swarray, on Monday, 6 July 2026.
During the meeting, both sides discussed a wide range of issues relating to labour administration, including compliance with Sierra Leone’s labour laws, capacity building for Ministry personnel, improvements to the Unified Work Permit processing system and measures to strengthen collaboration between the Ministry and the Chinese business community.
Counsellor Peng Wang proposed regular engagements between the Ministry and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to educate Chinese enterprises on Sierra Leone’s labour regulations and promote greater compliance among businesses. He also announced that China has approved a bilateral training programme for next year aimed at strengthening the capacity of Ministry staff, particularly newly recruited labour inspectors and enforcement officers.
The Chinese diplomat further reaffirmed China’s commitment to supporting a stable, transparent and predictable investment environment that will enable Chinese companies to continue contributing to Sierra Leone’s socio-economic and infrastructure development.
Welcoming the initiative, Minister Mohamed Rahman Swarray described China as one of Sierra Leone’s most trusted development partners and praised the longstanding cooperation between the two countries.
He assured the Chinese Embassy that the Ministry remains committed to promoting labour law compliance through constructive dialogue and engagement rather than punitive measures, emphasizing that Chinese companies continue to play a vital role in the country’s economic growth.
“Chinese companies remain among the largest employers in Sierra Leone and have made significant contributions to the country’s infrastructure development. Our goal is to ensure compliance while maintaining a productive partnership,” the Minister stated.
Mohamed Rahman Swarray also requested expanded training opportunities for Ministry staff, additional support for the Labour Migration Unit and assistance to rehabilitate the Ministry’s Trade Testing Centre to enhance skills development and service delivery.
Addressing concerns over ongoing labour inspections, the Minister clarified that Chinese businesses are not being unfairly targeted, stressing that inspections are conducted to encourage compliance with national labour laws while maintaining positive working relationships with employers.
Counsellor Peng Wang, in turn, appealed for the Ministry’s continued support to Chinese enterprises operating in Sierra Leone. He raised concerns about delays in processing Unified Work Permits and technical discrepancies affecting the online work permit platform, requesting the Ministry’s intervention to improve efficiency.
Responding to the concerns, the Minister assured the Counsellor that the Ministry would work closely with affected companies to fast-track outstanding work permit applications while engaging the system developers to resolve technical issues affecting the online platform.
The meeting concluded with both parties reaffirming their commitment to maintaining regular dialogue and strengthening cooperation to promote labour law compliance, improve the investment climate, stimulate economic growth and advance sustainable development for the mutual benefit of Sierra Leone and China.
