The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable B. Elias Shoniyin, Friday, October 23, received the visiting Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain, who paid a courtesy visit on him.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, the ceremony was held in the Minister’s conference room on the fourth floor. 

Welcoming Madam Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, Acting Foreign Minister Shoniyin stated, “We don’t see or consider you a stranger anymore in Liberia; we consider you as a friend. You were there before, during the country’s post-war economic development recovery and now you are here during the country’s Ebola recovery period.”

Hon. Shoniyin reflected on the country’s fight against the deadly Ebola virus disease. He told the visiting Spanish delegation that Liberians did not give up because they knew that there were strong, bilateral friends there to help them. “Many people like you came to the rescue of the Liberians,” the Minister added.

He noted that the Ebola crisis was a situation that shared a lot of sad memories for every Liberian.

“We thankyou for the visit to Liberia. You have come to assess particularly how your programs in Liberia can be operationalized,” Acting Minister Shoniyin further said.

In brief remarks, Madam Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega thanked Mr. Shoniyin for the warm reception accorded her, and expressed gratitude to the Government and People of Liberia for the courage, determination and their resilience in overcoming the Ebola epidemic, which she said was a “difficult situation.”

“I have come to express my deepest gratitude, sympathy and admiration to the Government and People of Liberia for successfully overcoming the difficult situation of the Ebola disease,” she added.