On October 21, the Chinese Ambassador H.E. Mr. REN Yisheng paid courtesy calls on Hon. Ansu D. Sonii, Sr., Minister of Education and Hon. Jeanine M. Cooper, Minister of Agriculture respectively.

When meeting with Minister of Education, Ambassador Ren said the two countries have plenty of exchanges and cooperation in areas of education and people-to-people exchange. The China Radio International (CRI) and the Confucius Institute are very popular in Liberia, opening a window for the Liberian people to better understand the real China. The Chinese government will continue to provide support to Liberia in terms of human resource capacity building. Minister Sonii thanked the Chinese government for helping build the Ministerial Complex, the Fendell Campus of the University of Liberia and several rural schools for Liberia, and hoped the Chinese government will render assistance in the development of the vocational and technical schools in Liberia.

When meeting with Minister of Agriculture, the two sides exchanged views on strengthening the cooperation in agriculture, elevating the level of agricultural technology and promoting the commercialization of agriculture of Liberia as well as enhancing the capacity building of the above-mentioned areas for Liberia. Ambassador Ren also introduced the economic value of “miracle” grass, known in China as Juncao (meaning “the herbal plant for growing edible mushrooms”) and the trade platforms such as Canton Fair and China Import and Export Fair. Minister Cooper said Liberia has abundant natural resources such as cassava, cocoa, rubber, oil palms and so forth and welcomed Chinese businesses to make investment in Liberia.

Earlier, Ambassador Ren also met Hon. Audrian R. Smith Forbes, the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports. The two sides exchanged views on strengthening the cooperation in the cause of youth and sports development, pushing forward the bamboo and rattan weaving and vegetable plantation cooperation project and the capacity building in youth employment and entrepreneurship of Liberia.