On behalf of the Government and People of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, it gives me great pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to His Excellency Governor Mao and his delegation, on their first official visit to The Bahamas.
I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for the increased engagement between The Bahamas and Hunan Province through the various exchanges undertaken to date, and the provision of donations from Hunan Province.
In 2015, we saw the beginning of a new friendship with Hunan Province when the Brightness Action Project was launched. This project brought doctors from Hunan Province who provided free operation services for over 200 Bahamian cataract patients.
Two years ago, we had the honour to sign the Letter of Intent for the Establishment of a Sister Province between Hunan Province and Grand Bahama on the Establishment of Sister Province/Island Relations, along with two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on agricultural cooperation and medical equipment donations.
Since then, Hunan Province has continued to display its intent to further engage with The Bahamas by:
- the establishment of greenhouses and the donation of agricultural equipment to assist with our food resilience plans;
- displaying its culture through performances by the Hunan Acrobatic Art Theater;
- re-launching the Brightness Action project; and
- establishing an MoU between Hunan’s premier University, the Central South University (CSU) and the University of The Bahamas, among others.
These exchanges are representative of the importance of our relationship with Hunan Province, and by extension, the People’s Republic of China.
Since establishing diplomatic relations between our two countries on the 23rd of May 1997, The Bahamas has continued to express its commitment to the One-China policy and has encouraged continued dialogue and support on mutual areas of interest both bilaterally, and multilaterally.
In further demonstrating The Bahamas’ commitment to our relationship with China, we endorsed President Xi Jinping’s Global Development Initiative, also known as the “GDI”, on 28th March this year, via diplomatic channels. The GDI was initially announced in 2021 by China’s President Xi Jinping and is purposed to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remain on target.
There were and still are ongoing technical exchanges as a result of both of our mutual commitment to strengthen bilateral relations, and we look forward to the continued deepening of our fraternal ties for the many years to come.
I once again thank the People’s Republic of China, and by extension, Hunan Province, for the continued support and cooperation.
Thank you.
