STORY: Sierra Leone-China friendship delivers tangible results, says minister
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 20-24, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 28, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:17
LOCATION: Freetown
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Freetown  
2. Chernor Bah
3. Freetown
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education
5. the friendship road
6. various of the China-aided foreign service academy in Freetown (file)
7. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education
8. various of the Chinese medical team
9. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education
10. various of Freetown
11. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education

STORYLINE:

The friendship between Sierra Leone and China over the past few decades has delivered tangible results across multiple areas.

This is according to Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education Chernor Bah in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education
"China is undoubtedly one of Sierra Leone's most important relationships, and it's manifested itself in very meaningful areas."

According to Bah, the most potent part of the relationship is human capital exchange, which has benefited both countries and will continue to flourish.

The minister also thanked China for assisting Sierra Leone's infrastructure needs.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education
"It is not a theory. We can see it. We see the buildings. We see the bridges. We see the National Stadium. We see the investment that the People's Republic of China has made into our lives, and we see how those investments have improved the lives of our people and improved the things that we see in our country, so this is something that we are grateful for. This is a friendship, as I said, we value, and it's one that we want to continue to cultivate and expand."
   
Describing China as a friend in need, Bah said China had always been among the countries that provided the fastest medical assistance when Sierra Leone was confronted with emergencies, such as Ebola and COVID-19.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education
"Whenever we've had an emergency in this country, whether it's Ebola, COVID, the People's Republic of China has always been among the first to turn up to support us with vaccines, with healthcare personnel, with their equipment, to be able to have us deliver for our people. So, we are very proud of that friendship, and we are proud of the way it continues to go."
   
Bah said that under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone has been mainly focused on developing areas such as food security, youth development, technology and infrastructure.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English) CHERNOR BAH, Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education
"We want to transform this country, we want to industrialize this country, we want to transform our infrastructure. We want to make sure that this country has the right technologies, and we see China as a major partner that will help us to achieve those dreams."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Freetown.
(XHTV)