On March 4, the Ministry of National Defence of Zambia held a grand medal-awarding ceremony for the 25th Chinese Military Medical Expert Team to Zambia at the Army HQ, awarding 11 members of the team "Medal of Foreign Cooperation".
Mr. Norman Chipakupaku, Permanent Secretary of Zambian Defence Ministry conveyed the cordial greetings from President Hakainde Hichilema and Defence Minister Ambrose Lwiji Lufuma to all Chinese military doctors. He said that the friendship between China and Zambia has a long history and is unbreakable. Zambia sincerely thanks the Chinese military for its long term help of sending senior medical experts to Zambia. He hopes that the two sides would continue to strengthen military cooperation in various fields, including medical cooperation. Brigadier General Bernard Kapatamoyo, Commandant of the Maina Soko Medical Center, spoke highly of the professionalism of the Chinese military medical team, saying that the Chinese military doctors, with noble medical ethics, superb skills and practical actions, overcame many difficulties and worked diligently and have won the admiration and praise of the Zambian colleagues as well as Zambian patients.
Senior Colonel Jiang Lei, Defence Attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, said that since 1984, hundreds of Chinese military doctors traveled thousands of miles to Zambia and contributed greatly to the health and well-being of Zambian people. They are not only white angels of saving lives but also envoys of friendship. The Chinese Military Medical Expert Team has become a symbol of successful cooperation between the two countries and the two militaries. In recent years, the cooperation between Chinese and Zambian militaries has enjoyed a good momentum of development, and medical cooperation, which is a key area of cooperation between the two militaries, has continued to deepen. He said that the Chinese military doctors will carry forward the spirit of the Chinese Medical Team which is "not afraid of hardships, willing to dedicate, saving lives with boundless love", use their medical proficiency and ethics to benefit local people, and make greater contributions to cooperation of the two militaries and the friendship of the two peoples.