By Tang Siyu and Wu Kangci
ABIDJAN, June 25 -- The 43rd Chinese naval escort taskforce arrived in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, on June 22 for a four-day goodwill visit.
On the morning of arrival, the Chinese vessels were welcomed by more than 200 people at the port of Abidjan, including Chinese Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire Wu Jie, staff of the Chinese embassy, and representatives of overseas Chinese, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ivorian Navy and other representatives of Ivorian military.
Speaking at the welcoming ceremony, the commanding officer of the visiting vessels expressed the willingness of the Chinese side to continue to deepen military exchanges, strengthen maritime security cooperation and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability with the Ivorian side.
After the ceremony, attending guests boarded the ships in batches for ship tour.
During the visit to Cote d'Ivoire, the commanding officer made courtesy calls on the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Ivorian Military, the Chief of Naval Staff, and the Commander of the Port of Abidjan, and visited and donated materials to local schools.
Besides, the sailors paid visits to Ivorian naval base, shipyard, operation command and inshore patrol ship, attended a welcome reception organized by the Ivorian Navy, and hosted an open-day activity on the frigate Sanya and a deck reception on the destroyer Nanning.