Sierra Leone urges peaceful resolution to South China Sea dispute

Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Samura Kamara has called for the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute through friendly negotiations and honoring bilateral agreements and provisions of the declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea.

Talking to Xinhua in an exclusive interview prior to his visit to China starting on Monday, Kamara emphasized the need for all parties to "exercise respect for the rights of each other as sovereign states and contracting states of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)".

He also urged international judicial institutions or arbitral tribunals to fully respect declarations of optional exception made by each country under Article 298 of the UNCLOS.

He affirmed that Sierra Leone is behind China in looking forward to a "mutually respectful solution among the parties that are involved in the South China Sea".

Kamara's visit to China follows a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the West African country in August last year.

Samura Kamara described the relationship with China as growing day by day, noting that the relationship is based on mutual respect and understanding each other's concerns.

He said Sierra Leone would further seek support from China in implementing the country's post-Ebola recovery program as well as in areas including agriculture, education, water resources, revival of the private enterprise and the health sector so that the country will not fall victim to what happened during the Ebola crisis.

He also paid tribute to China's support to the country mentioning the Parliament's building, the national stadium and the newly constructed foreign affairs ministry edifice as some of the symbols of China's contributions to Sierra Leone's development.

Samura Kamara was also thankful to the Chinese support in the country's Ebola crisis which he said helped "galvanize" international support. Endit