Support helps keep the peace

China and Liberia have signed a cooperation agreement that will allow the West African nation to build a highstandard contingent of riot police, said Zhang Yue, China's ambassador to Liberia.

Zhang said China, as a friend of Liberia and Africa, is not only a development partner but also a contributor to the country's peace and security.

"Capacity building is an important part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission; we would like to see the momentum going on and continue efforts with international partners, even in the post UNMIL (United Nations mission in Liberia) time," he said.

The Chinese diplomat spoke in the capital of Monrovia on Nov 24 when the embassy in Liberia donated a consignment of logistics to the Liberian National Police.

He did not give further details about the cooperation agreement between the two countries, but described the donation, which included three vehicles and 10 police escort motorbikes, as a "small token" of support to the West African nation.

The donation is part of China's foreign policy toward preserving world peace and promoting common development, Zhang said. He added that China is continuously supporting Liberia's development. Building human resource capacity would also be an area of focus for support to the local police.

He assured Liberia of China's commitment to sustaining its peace and called for a deepening relationship between the two countries.

Despite 15,000 UN peacekeepers being pulled out of the country, after helping restore order and peace following the civil war in 2003, Chinese forces are still on the ground, buttressing the work of Liberia's police.

The police have often faced logistics constraints, and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said last year that a lack of resources had prevented her government from providing enough support for the security forces.

Receiving the Chinese donation, Gregory Coleman, Liberia's police chief, said it "goes a very long way" in helping the people of the country. "This is not a small token for us, because it is timely. We cannot overstate the need for police visibility in this time," he said.

The donation comes as Liberia is going through a marathon presidential election process, being delayed by a lawsuit filed by one of the opposition candidates, who is alleging "irregularities and fraud" over the results of the first round of voting, held on Oct 10.

Coleman said the items donated would help augment the response capacity of the police and called on the Chinese government to continue its assistance. Fredrick Cherue, Liberia's justice minister, said, "China has always been there for Liberia."

Mentioning ongoing projects sponsored by China - including a $50 million ministerial complex and the extension of the legislative building project - as examples of Beijing's support, Cherue described the Asian nation as a "great friend of Liberia".

For China Daily