Address of Ambassador Lu on the Signing Ceremony of
Aid Agreement and Implemantation Agreement of the West Coast Road Rehabitation Project
24th NOV., 2016
Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica,
Honourable Miriam Blanchard, Minister for Public Works and Ports,
Other Honourable Members of Cabinet,
Your Excellency Steve Ferrol, Ambassador and Secretary to the Cabinet,
Permanent Secretaries,
Mr. LIN Bin, Director, Executive Bureau of International Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce of China,
Mr. WANG Quanhuo, Chief Economic and Commercial Officer, Embassy of the People's Republic of China,
Other Invited Guests,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning!
It is my great pleasure and honor to attend this important ceremony and to sign the Aid Agreement with Honorable Prime Minister Skerrit. On behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese Embassy, I would like to warmly congradulate the government of Dominica and its people on this momentous occasion. The signing of Aid Agreement and Implemantation Agreement of the West Coast Road Rehabitation project is another symbol of China's strong support to the rebuilding of a better Dominica after last year's tropical storm Erika, and to the economic and social development of Dominica. This is also another significent symbol of the continuing good cooperation between our two countries as well as the deepening friendship between our two peoples.
I would like to thank the officials and technical experts from both sides for your expertise, dedication and hard working on this project. The experts team from China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd has been working around the clock for more than one month doing on-site exploration and survey works along the road from Roseau to Portsmouth. They are doing an exceptional job. China Railway Eryuan is one of China's leading institution in infrastructure, I have no doubt that under their management, this project will be accomplished in high quality and high efficiency. I would also like to thank Honorable Minister Blanchard and her excellent team for their good cooperation, coordination and hard working together with our Chinese team.
Ladies and gentlemen, we all well konw how important the infrastracure is to the development of a country and to the livelihood of the people. There is a proverb in China says, "If you want to get rich, you build the road first". H.E. President Savarin told me after I presenting my Letter of Credential a few days ago that the Yorke Valley Bridge connects Dominica from east to west, and the West Coast road connects Dominica from South to North, they are very important to Dominica people. After I arrived in Dominica, it is very impressive to me that the government of Dominica under the visionary leardership of Honorable Prime Minister Skerrit made such great endeavor and gain substantial achievements to rebuild Dominica and improve people's livelihood after Erika regardless of its limited resources. I remember Chinese President H.E. Xi Jinping said many times that, "The people's wish for a good life is our goal." Therefore we felt as if it happened to ourselves when tropical storm Erick passed through our good friend. I can tell you that the Chinese Government made a special case for this project and greatly expedited the examination and approval process which usually cannot happen in our normal practice. As you can see we also have a special guest Mr. Lin bin, a Director from the Ministry of Commence of China who made a special trip traveling thousands of miles from Beijing to Dominica for this ceremony, which is another demonstration of the great importance the Chinese Government attached to this project.
Ladies and gentlemen, as the new Chinese Ambassador, I arrived in Dominica just 20 days ago. I was warmly received by Dominican leaders, officials and people. We appreciate very much Dominica's strong commitment to the One China Policy and spport to China in the international affairs and many other areas. I was also greatly impressed by the deep friendship between our two peoples. I would like to share with you a story my colleagues of the China Railway Eryuan told me, one day when they are doing the on-site exploration and survey on the west coast road in the hot weather, some Dominican friends lived nearby came to visit them and offered them with water and milk, and they said, we want to help our Chinese friends who are helping us.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say, we are not only building a road, we are also building the friendship. It is a friendship road will last forever.
With the support of your Honorable Prime Minister and government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the friendly relations of cooperation between our two countries will be further consolidated. I would like to reiterate China's continuous support to Dominica's economic and social development, and as Ambassador, I will excert my best effort to strengthen this relations.
I wish this project a great success!
Thank you!