Vice Minister Yu Kangzhen met with Dr. Elizabeth Mans, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Sierra Leone, in Beijing on Dec. 21, 2016. The two sides exchanged views on furthering the bilateral fisheries cooperation.
Vice Minister Yu noted that China and Sierra Leone enjoy profound traditional friendship, and agricultural cooperation, particularly fisheries cooperation, has always been a key area in the bilateral relations. In recent years, the bilateral fisheries cooperation has registered remarkable achievements and played an important role in diversifying aquatic products at markets of both countries, promoting the employment, income growth and living standards of the people, and facilitating the economic and social development of Sierra Leone. China stands ready to step up pragmatic cooperation with Sierra Leone in improving fisheries cooperation mechanism, fisheries investment and jointly combating illegal fishing, in order to upgrade the bilateral cooperation to a new high.
Dr. Elizabeth Mans fully agreed with Vice Minister Yu, expressing the willingness of the Sierra Leonean side to seek innovative cooperation modes and broaden cooperation areas with China for greater achievements in the future.