Embassy in Sierra Leone Held Farewell and Welcome Reception for Chinese Medical Aid Team in Sierra Leone
2023-03-20
On March 6, 2023, the Embassy in Sierra Leone held a farewell reception for all members of the 23rd and 24th medical teams of China's aid to Sierra Leone. Ambassador Wang Qing and Serbian Minister of Health Denby attended and delivered speeches. About 80 people including officials from the Serbian Ministry of Health, representatives of Chinese-funded institutions and overseas Chinese in Serbia attended.
Ambassador Wang Qing said that during the work of the 23rd batch of Chinese medical teams in Serbia, they vigorously carried forward the spirit of the Chinese medical team of "not afraid of hardships and dangers, selfless dedication, saving lives and healing the wounded, and boundless love". They treated 23000 patients and successfully carried out more than 600 operations. In addition to daily medical services, it also carried out free clinics in communities, schools and mines, worked hard to train local medical personnel, actively promoted China-Serbia health cooperation, and made positive contributions to China-Serbia medical and health cooperation. Warmly welcome the 24th batch of medical teams from China to Serbia. I hope that the team members will uphold the spirit of the Chinese medical team, take over the important task of the 23rd batch of medical teams with superb medical skills and benevolence, and strive for better performance.
Ambassador Wang Qing said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the dispatch of China's foreign aid medical team and the 50th anniversary of China's dispatch of medical teams to Serbia. Over the past 50 years, China has sent more than 500 long-term and short-term medical and health experts to work in Serbia, treating more than 800000 patients, performing more than 100000 operations, and training more than 5000 local medical personnel. During the Ebola and neo-coronary pneumonia epidemics, the Serbian medical team fought side by side with the Serbian people to overcome the epidemic and was a well-deserved envoy of friendship between China and Serbia. Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his reply to the 19th Chinese medical team to the Central African Republic, encouraged all Chinese medical team members to use their medical skills and medical ethics to benefit the local people and to better show China to the world with practical actions. In accordance with the spirit of President Xi Jinping's reply, with the goal of promoting the construction of a new era of China-Africa health community, China will continue to provide material, technical and human support to Sierra Leone, help establish a medical treatment and disease prevention system, and continue to add new impetus to the friendly cooperation between China and Sierra Leone. Make greater contributions to the international health cause.
Denby sincerely thanked the 23rd batch of Chinese medical teams for their contributions to promoting the development of Serbian health, and warmly welcomed the 24th batch of medical teams to work in Serbia. Denby said that the traditional friendship between China and Serbia is strong, and the two sides respect each other, trust each other and develop together. When the Ebola outbreak broke out, the Chinese side immediately dispatched medical teams to help. China was the first country to provide assistance to Serbia after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic. It is hoped that the 24th batch of medical teams will continue to actively provide medical services in Serbia, actively share experience, carry out medical research, and make positive contributions to the development of health services in Serbia.
Zhou Xi, captain of the 23rd batch of medical teams aided by China, and Chen Yongjun, captain of the 24th batch of medical teams, spoke respectively, sharing their experience and feelings of working in Serbia, and said that they would actively carry out their work and make positive contributions to the cause of health cooperation between China and Serbia.
