By Amin Kef Sesay
Professor David Francis has told the nation that his Ministry will be shifting from Economic Diplomacy to Development Diplomacy, which he said, will look at the national interest as the key driver towards national development.
It may interest Sierra Leoneans to know that the People’s Republic of China since it established diplomatic relationship with us in 1971 has practised more of development diplomacy towards us than economic diplomacy.
For example, China since that time has, for free, trained thousands of Sierra Leoneans to man key medical, scientific, technical and managerial positions in the economy.
Chinese technologists have trained, for free, Sierra Leonean farmers on modern farming techniques; worked with our medical staffs across the country sharing knowledge and expertise.
Underscoring the fundamental principles of the shift from economic diplomacy to development diplomacy, Prof. Francis noted that they will look at trade and investment, in-country benefactions and value addition; pointing out that in order to achieve such we have to invest as a nation, as well as enhance bilateral and multilateral partnerships for development.
In this light, China has during the last ten years invested heavily in the country’s marine and mining sectors and has gradually become a major trading partner of Sierra Leone in buying our exports.
From participating in the First Ministerial Conference in 2000, to the attendance of H.E. President Julius Maada Bio of the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018, over the past two decades, China and Sierra Leone have maintained close exchanges and frequent high-level visits. Three Sierra Leonean Presidents visited China five times.
There have also been over 20 important exchange of visits by Presidents’ special envoys/special representatives, Vice Presidents, Speakers of Parliament and Foreign Ministers between the two sides.
A good number of Sierra Leonean Ministers were invited to visit China. These high-level visits not only set the direction for the development of China-Sierra Leone relations, but also laid the foundation for enhancing mutual political trust and promoting the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.
By implementing relevant FOCAC projects and initiatives, the two-way people-to-people exchanges have also been on rapid increase. Various seminars, training courses, think tank exchanges, cultural visits and other activities have been conducted, effectively consolidating public support for the friendly and mutual beneficial cooperation between China and Sierra Leone.
Over the past two decades, China-Sierra Leone economic and trade cooperation has made great progress. The bilateral trade increased from over US$8.6 million in 2000 to US$510 million in 2019. China has been Sierra Leone’s largest trading partner for more than ten years in a row.
China’s high-quality and cost-competitive products have enriched Sierra Leone’s market, saved Sierra Leonean people’s expenses, and helped improving production conditions and economic efficiency for Sierra Leone.
At the same time, dozens of Chinese companies have come to invest in Sierra Leone, creating about 4500 direct jobs and injecting vitality into the development of infrastructure, transportation, telecommunications, tourism, manufacture, fishery, and mining etc.
Projects under the Chinese Government assistance include the Office Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bo Stadium, hydro-power stations, hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, vehicles, rice aid, medical and health assistance, agricultural technical cooperation etc.
More than 500 Sierra Leonean students were awarded Chinese Government Scholarships to study in China, and over 5100 personnel from all walks of life in Sierra Leone have been invited to China to attend various short-term training courses. Such practical cooperation has given a strong boost to Sierra Leone’s economic and social development, contributing to the enhancement of the welfare of the Sierra Leonean people.
When FOCAC was just founded, China worked with the international community to help end the civil war in Sierra Leone, support the post-war reconstruction, and assist the consolidation of peace and stability. When Ebola epidemic broke out in 2014, China rushed to the rescue immediately by sending more than 300 Chinese doctors and nurses to Sierra Leone and supplying planeloads of medical equipment, which contributed immensely to the final victory over the epidemic. In 2017, when the tragic mudslide hit Freetown, the Chinese provided urgent humanitarian assistance and took an active part in the relief work.
During COVID-19, the Chinese have provided several rounds of urgent donation of most needed medical supplies to help Sierra Leone enhance her prevention and control capacity. The three Chinese medical experts teams sent to Sierra Leone under the Chinese Government aid program have been working day and night with their local counterparts in virus detection, patient treatment and technical training.
