BEIJING, CHINA – The Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has officially turned over the China-aided Ministerial Complex located in Congo Town, few kilometers away from the capital Monrovia, to the Government of Liberia.
According to a dispatch from the Liberian embassy near Beijing, China shall be responsible for the ministerial complex’s quality warranty, for the next 24 months.
Assistant Minister for International Cooperation, Sherdrick Jackson, signed on behalf of the Liberian government; while the Deputy Director General of the Agency for International Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce, Zeng Huacheng, signed on behalf of the Chinese Government. Liberia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gbehzohngar Milton Findley and Ambassador Dudley McKinley Thomas observed the ceremony.
The construction of a ministerial complex as a China-aided project to Liberia first commenced with an Exchange of Letters signed between both governments on September 11, 2012. Another supplemental letter was signed on October 9, 2014. The China Jiangsu Provisional Construction Company, Limited, was commissioned to implement the project, which commenced during the reign of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, on October 25, 2016 and was completed on April 20, 2019.
After a joint acceptance inspection, both governments agreed that the project has met the requirement for acceptance and handover; with the Chinese fully fulfilling its obligations as stipulated in another Exchange of Letters and a Project Implementation Agreement signed with the Liberian government on March 8, 2016.
Meanwhile, following a successful Coordinators’ Meeting in Beijing, Minister Findley joined his Chinese counterpart and other African colleagues where he attended the first China – Africa Economic and Trade Expo held in Changsha, Hunan Province.
The expo, launched under the framework of FOCAC, was attended by more than 1,500 foreign guests, over 5,000 Chinese as well as over 3,500 exhibitors from 39 African countries. The Expo established a new mechanism for economic and trade cooperation between China and African countries.
