— Guyanese Ambassador

By Samuel Sukhnandan in Nanjing
CHINA has made a significant contribution to help bridge the skills gap for Guyana and many other countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, by offering training opportunities for their citizens, Guyana’s Ambassador to China, Anyin Choo said on Thursday.

In addressing the launch of the 5th China-LAC Forum: Dialogue Between Civilisations, held in Nanjing City, Jiang Su Province, the Guyanese diplomat told those gathered for the conference that the development of a highly-trained workforce remains an important area of cooperation between China and Guyana.

“Training of individuals through the Chinese Government’s scholarship and technical training programmes has assisted the LAC region and, by extension, Guyana, in bridging the skills gap in our human capital resources and has positively contributed to the capacity building and institutional strengthening of key agencies across our region,” she remarked.

Through medical cooperation, Ambassador Choo said Guyana’s health sector has benefitted significantly from expanded surgical techniques and modern equipment received from China, as well as the establishing of five specialised centres within the local public hospitals.

Additionally, the Guyanese envoy pointed out that Jiang Su Province, where the forum was launched, has been instrumental in contributing towards the vibrant bilateral medical cooperation programme between the two countries.

“Since 1993, Guyana has received medical brigades consistently from the Jiang Su Province, which has contributed significantly to the improvement of the public health care in Guyana, high-quality, specialised care for patients, and improved cooperation between healthcare professionals from Guyana and China.”

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE COOPERATION
Ambassador Choo emphasised that people-to-people cooperation in the medical field has been an important aspect of the Guyana-China bilateral relationship, which has sown many positive seeds and led to many success stories.

“… seeing and experiencing Chinese health care professionals working jointly side by side with our Guyanese health care professionals, transferring skills and sharing experiences to create medical break-throughs in Guyana, saving lives, creating small miracles, and changing the lives of people… is a sterling example of what partnerships can do to make the world we live in a better place for all,” the ambassador said.

Besides that, she commended China for its timely assistance to Guyana during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was a shortage of personal protective gear (PPE) and COVID-19 vaccines. She said this was done at a time when China itself was faced with its own internal challenges.

Meanwhile, former Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, also addressed the forum via video and highlighted that medical cooperation is one of the key areas of bilateral relations with China, which Guyana has enjoyed for many years.

“In the last 17 years, China has been one of the pivotal partners in the Guyana Government’s pursuit of providing access to healthcare for all and better healthcare for Guyanese. For 30 years, China has sent specialists to help us increase the scope of work… and healthcare is better in Guyana because of this,” he said.

As the conference gets underway, a group of Chinese medical specialists are preparing to leave Guyana, having served the country for one year, as part of the 17th medical brigade. Another group is now preparing to travel to Guyana to serve for another calendar year.

WIN-WIN COOPERATION
In delivering the keynote address virtually, China’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Xie Feng, said the world is undergoing accelerating changes unseen in a century, and has entered a new phase of instability and transformation.

“Once again, we are at a crossroads. A review of history tells us that the exchanges, mutual learning, and co-existence of various civilisations provide a lasting impetus for the progress of human civilisation,” he added.
He said going forward, China will continue to work with LAC countries to uphold the principles of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, provide mutual understanding and support on issues affecting each other’s core interests.

The country’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs urged its bilateral partners to work toward a China-LAC community with a shared future, and contribute to share to the harmonious co-existence, mutual learning, and common progress of different civilisations.

“We Chinese believe that the fire burns high when everyone adds wood to it. The continued growth of China-LAC relations in the new era requires broad participation, intellectual contribution, and synergy among governments and all social sectors of both sides,” he added.

Feng said he hoped that participating delegates will contribute their wisdom during discussions under the theme of this year’s dialogue and keep up their dedication to the joint China-LAC endeavour to share development opportunities, embrace a better future, and implement the Global Development Initiative.

The annual Dialogue Between the Civilisations of China and the LAC has been established as part of efforts to promote increased exchange between China and LAC countries, and has become one of the most influential platforms in China-LAC relations.

This edition of the forum was organised by institutions including the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies under China International Communications Group (CICG), the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government.

With the participation of several political leaders, diplomats, scholars, media representatives, and heads of international organisations, the two-day event examined several critical topics, including the strengthening of cooperation on science and technology.

(NCN Editor, Samuel Sukhnandan is currently in Beijing on the China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC) 2022 Fellowship at the invitation of the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA)
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