By Ernesto Cooke (News784) – Vice Minister of Taiwan José María Liu speaking at the Handing-over Ceremony of School Buses and Launching of Agricultural Machineries on Monday 28th August said, the school buses presented to the Government was one of the results of a visit by the Honourable Prime Minister made in October last year.
Liu Said when Dr Gonsalves met with President Tsai Ing-Wen during his visit; he mentioned the need for safe and secure means of transportation for school children.
The Vice Minister stated that Taiwan, same as St. Vincent and Grenadines, places the importance of quality education as a top priority.
In that regard, President Tsai immediately committed herself to contribute for the procurement of the buses for the children.
As it relates to agricultural machinery, the Vice Minister said he is proud to share with Vincentians a product made in Taiwan.
“You can see over there that they are very agile and easy to be handled, especially suitable to manoeuvre on the hilly terrain in St. Vincent and the Grenadines”, Liu said.
The Agricultural package consists of 8 light cultivators, eight cultivators with iron wheels and eight power sprayers, altogether 24 types of machinery at the cost of 65,000 EC dollars. They are aimed to assist and improve the quality and quantity of agricultural production.
In August 1981, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of China (Taiwan) established diplomatic relations. A 36-year friendship with remains strong.
“Over the years, our friendship has been mutually beneficial. We have conducted various fruitful cooperation projects not only in the field of infrastructure, as we can see in the case of the construction of the Argyle International Airport, but also in agriculture, health care, ICT, scholarships, human resources, and so on”.
Vice Minister Liu told the nation that the Government and People of St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been very supportive on Taiwan’s bid to participate in the international organisations such as the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies.
Liu while wrapping up his remarks at the ceremony express his nations sincere appreciation to the solidarity exhibited by St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
