China’s ambassador to Dominica, Chu Maoming, says he is encouraged by a recent statement by Finance Minister Dr. Irving McIntyre that the international airport project is nearing successful completion in Dominica.
The diplomat said that the airport being constructed by China’s CR5, is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2028 and ‘It not only means that the largest infrastructure project in Dominica’s history demonstrates once again that mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Dominica is bearing fruitful results. He said that development is the most important task for both China and Dominica, and it is also a major area of cooperation between the two countries.
He said internationally, China is also a leading force in global development and that this year, the Global Development Initiative (GDI) launched by President Xi Jinping turns five with the GDI providing China’s insight and contribution to reinvigorating global development.
‘Dominica is an important country in the Caribbean and the Global South, as well as a supporter and promoter of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through the GDI, China and Dominica have further built consensus and pooled strength on development issues.’
The Chinese diplomat recalls that during their meetings with President Xi, the Dominican President Sylvanie Burton and Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit both said that the GDI proposed by China has charted the course for peaceful coexistence and common prosperity for all countries, and expressed their readiness to strengthen all-round cooperation with China. He said Dominica has also joined 87 other countries in the Group of Friends of the GDI, working together to contribute to global development.
Maoming said since the GDI was proposed, China has consistently worked to translate it into practical cooperation outcomes, bringing valuable opportunities and tangible benefits to people around the world.
‘Over the past five years, through the China-U.N. Peace and Development Fund, the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and other funding initiatives, more than US$23 billion have been mobilized, supporting the implementation of over 1,800 ‘small and beautiful’ livelihood projects, and providing training for more than 200,000 people in different professions.’
He said as the Chinese Ambassador to Dominica, he is delighted to see that Dominica has also benefited from these efforts.
‘In recent years, China and Dominica have consistently upheld the principles of equality and mutual respect, focused on the livelihood needs of local people, and advanced cooperation projects under the guidance of the GDI.’
The diplomat said in healthcare, the China-Dominica Friendship Hospital has completed expansion and renovation, adding advanced equipment and facilities including the High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) system, while China and Dominica have carried out a series of remote medical consultation and training programs. Successive Chinese medical teams have worked tirelessly to alleviate people’s suffering and train local medical professionals.
In agriculture, the China-Dominica Modern Agriculture Center has been operating effectively, with smart greenhouses and hydroponic systems put into operation. Chinese agricultural experts have cultivated large quantities of high-quality seedlings, helping farmers increase their incomes and contributing to the modernization of Dominica’s agriculture.
In post-disaster recovery, six primary and secondary schools damaged by Hurricane Maria have been rebuilt with Chinese assistance. They will soon provide students with comfortable, safe, modern and climate-resilient learning environments.
In addition, China has provided in the past 3 years tens of millions US Dollars of grant to Dominica to support a wide range of ‘small and beautiful’ projects that improve people’s livelihoods, including the construction of climate-resilient housing, post-hurricane home repairs, and community infrastructure such as river protection walls and drainage systems. The funding will also be used to support entrepreneurship among small and medium-sized enterprises.
In capacity building, hundreds of government officials, professionals from various sectors, and young students have traveled to China to participate in short-term or long-term training programmes. They have brought what they have seen and learned back to Dominica and become an important force in the country’s economic and social development.
‘A thriving world lifts China, and a prosperous China empowers the world. Faced with such serious challenges as growing turbulence and transformation in the international landscape and a widening North-South development gap, the significance of the GDI has become even more prominent.
‘For the sake of our shared future, China is ready to work with Dominica and other like-minded partners to underscore the imperative of development and align the GDI with the U.N. development agenda,’ Maoming said, adding that ‘the vision lies ahead, and the road is beneath our feet.
‘No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will continue to honor its responsibilities as a major country and align its growth with the common good of the world to promote and contribute to global development.
‘We stand ready to work hand in hand with Dominica to continuously advance the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity,’ Maoming added.