ＣＰＡＦＦＣ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｓｉｅｒｒａ Ｌｅｏｎｅ ａｎｄ Ｃａｍｅｒｏｏｎ

At the invitation of the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Association (SLCFA) and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization of Cameroon， a 14-member CPAFFC delegation headed by Wang Daoyu， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial People’s Congress， paid a goodwill visit to Sierra Leone and Cameroon in early December 2005. In Sierra Leone Vice President Solomon Ekuma Berewa， President of the Parliament Edmond Cowan， and Vice Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamara， and in Cameroon President of the National Assembly Cavaye Yeguie Djibril and Minister-Representative of Territorial Administration and Decentralization Edou Emmanuel respectively met with the delegation. The delegation had working meetings respectively with the officials of the SLCFA and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization of Cameroon.

Solomon Berewa， vice president of Sierra Leone， on behalf of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah， expressed his warm welcome to the delegation. He said， with the concerted efforts made by the two countries and peoples， the friendship between Sierra Leone and China has been developing continuously and bilateral friendly cooperation getting strengthened. The government and people of Sierra Leone appreciate China’s disinterested support and assistance during their economic and social reconstruction. He said， China respects the sovereignty and dignity of small and weak countries， never renders assistance with strings attached， and never makes the recipient country feel humiliated， which deeply touches the people of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone cherishes the Chinese people’s assistance and friendship and will continue to strengthen cooperation with China in multilateral and international affairs. He pledged， on the Taiwan question Sierra Leone will continue to stick to the one-China policy， and support China’s efforts to maintain state sovereignty and promote reunification of the motherland.

In meeting with the delegation， President of the Parliament Edmond Cowan and Vice Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamara， spoke highly of China’s rapid development in its modernization drive， and said， Sierra Leone follows China’s successful experience in its economic construction and social development with great interest. President Cowan said， the Parliament is willing to strengthen exchanges with China’s National People’s Congress and make contribution to the development of friendly relations between the two countries. He asked the delegation to convey Sierra Leonean Parliament’s greetings to the Chinese National People’s Congress and the Chinese people. Vice Foreign Minister Kamara recalled China’s aid to Sierra Leone with deep feelings and praised China’s generosity， selflessness and sincere friendship with the African people. He expressed Sierra Leonean government’s earnest wish to carry out cooperation with China in the fields of energy， agriculture， fishery， mining industry， etc.

In meeting with the delegation， Cavaye Yeguie Djibril， president of the National Assembly of Cameroon， expressed his satisfaction with the vigorous Cameroon-China relations， and said that the traditional friendship between Cameroon and China is known to all. He appreciated China’s sincere selfless assistance and said China has never forgotten African friends. China’s aid in the way of “teaching them how to fish instead of giving them fish” is what Africa needs most. He said， the Cameroonian people will never forget the Chinese people’s profound friendship. He wished China prosperity and early reunification.

In Sierra Leone the delegation visited the Henan Guoji Industrial and Trade Park. After one and a half year’s construction， the park started business in April 2005. In addition to production， processing， commodity exhibition and sales and bonded storage， the park also provides other services such as clearance， registration， translation， etc. At present in the park there are 24 China-funded enterprises， mainly producing and selling products that are badly needed including batteries， plastic steel， plastics， generators， etc. All the enterprises in the park have gained profits. According to the host the park is a joint venture run by the Henan Guoji Corporation and the Sierra Leonean Central government， the former having 82% shares and the latter 18%.

The members of the delegation came from five provinces and cities. They all felt that the visit helped them gain a new understanding of Africa and widen their vision. They also publicized the tremendous achievements China has made since reform and opening up， and showed the largest developing country China’s support of African countries. The visit also helped enhance mutual understanding and friendship and lay a good foundation for future cooperation between China and African countries.