With D. Moses Wantu
Building on CHINESE'S EXPERIENCE to improve Liberia Last year, to be precise March 28, 2025, the Government of Liberia and the People’s Republic of China officially signed a bilateral agreement for technical cooperation. The agreement was meant to enhance mutual collaboration in various sectors through the implementation of projects agreed upon by both governments, with a focus on promoting peace, stability, prosperity, and development in Liberia. During the signing ceremony, H.E. Yin Chengwu, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Liberia, expressed satisfaction with the agreement and highlighted its importance in strengthening the ties between the two nations.
H.E. Yin Chengwu, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Liberia, maintained that the agreement is designed to facilitate projects that will be implemented following friendly consultations, reinforcing the shared goal of achieving sustainable development and promoting a prosperous future for Liberia. Ambassador Yin emphasized that the agreement aligns with the principles of equality, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation, which are central to the recent commitments made at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit organized by the Chinese's government. This is a good move by the Chinese, demonstrating magnanimity of partnership with struggling African countries like Liberia. Under a similar partnership agreement, China pledged US$14 Million Dollars to support Liberia's development agenda. The agreement signed in Liberia's capital Monrovia is aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries and will fund projects that will create job opportunities for Liberians.
While we must praise China for its sense of generosity, it is very important for us to know that we can not continue to settle down with this handbag Foreign policy. There is a need to roll up our sleeves if Liberia must be self-sufficient in its development efforts. There is a wise saying " show me your friend, and I will tell who you are" . How can Liberia be in diplomatic partnership with The People’s Republic of China but still finding it difficult to be self-sufficient in food production? Why are we still behind time when other nations are progressing? The reason or reasons are right under our feet. Until we can design a development agenda with clear goals and objectives, Liberia will continue to be a beggar for survival. It will be great to leverage our diplomatic engagement in such a way that will attract foreign investments rather than pushing for "hand bag diplomacy." The question is, why our Liberian diplomats are not proactive in attracting foreign direct investors but would rather settle for begging for crumbs? The Ministry of Foreign Affairs from time in memorial has deliberately refused and failed to send on mission qualified Liberians who are trained by the Foreign Service Institute. Instead, the Ministry recruits and has a refresher course for a few days and later sends them to serve, thereby leaving out qualified Foreign service Institute trained graduates who are trained to approach diplomacy that attracts foreign investment to the country and those who are sent to represent us are not giving their full benefits. As a result they may not have any incentive to properly represent the nation.
In conclusion, while we hail the bilateral agreements with China and other countries, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that the Liberian government is doing very little, if anything at all to shift the paradigm by doing for ourselves what sovereign nations are expected to do for us. For so long we are surviving on handouts. The question is, when are we going to graduate from receiving handouts to doing something for ourselves?
