Senegalese President Macky Sall met with the Chinese Ambassador to Senegal Xiao Han on Friday to exchange views on Senegal-China ties and cooperation.
Thanks to the joint care and leadership of the two countries’ heads of state, mutual political trust between China and Senegal has increased significantly in recent years, and the breadth, depth and activeness of pragmatic cooperation are unprecedented, Xiao said.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have worked together to combat the pandemic and demonstrated high-level friendly relations, the Chinese ambassador said.
“China is willing to work hand in hand with Senegal to implement the consensuses reached by the two heads of state, give full play to the role of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and constantly advance China-Senegal and China-Africa cooperation,” Xiao said.
Sall expressed his sincere gratitude to China, saying Chinese vaccines have provided important protection to the Senegalese people and brought hope to Senegal to overcome the pandemic.
“Chinese vaccines are safe and effective, are deeply trusted and welcomed by the Senegalese people and have made a great contribution to Senegal’s response to the pandemic,” said the Senegalese president.
“Since the start of the pandemic, China has provided solid support to Senegal in various ways, and the Senegalese government is deeply grateful for the support of the Chinese government and people. The Senegalese side is willing to work with China to bring bilateral cooperation and the construction of the FOCAC to a new level,” he added.
Earlier Friday afternoon, another batch of vaccines offered by the Chinese government arrived in Dakar and was welcomed by Xiao and Senegalese officials at the airport.
The vaccines were carried back by Senegalese national flag carrier Air Senegal to the Blaise Diagne International Airport from Beijing, China.
Air Senegal said in a statement that it executed the world’s longest commercial flight on Friday with an Airbus 330neo, nearly 16 hours, to carry the Chinese-donated vaccine from Beijing to Dakar.
In February, China was the first country to supply Senegal with COVID-19 vaccines, from Sinopharm, making Senegal the first West African country to launch its national vaccination campaign.
Since March 2, 2020, Senegal has recorded 40,806 COVID-19 cases, including 39,529 recoveries and 1,122 deaths. (XINHUA)
