Hunan and Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, signed an agreement on establishing friendship province-city ties in Beijing on June 25. This agreement increases the number of Hunan's friendship province/city pairings to 105. Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and governor of the People's Government of Hunan Province, met with Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados, and her entourage before the signing ceremony.
Kerrie Symmonds, minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados; Hallam Henry, Barbadian ambassador to China; Yan Xiusheng, Chinese ambassador to Barbados; and Qu Hai, secretary general of Hunan provincial government, attended.
The meeting.
Governor Mao congratulated on the establishment of the relationship and briefly introduced Hunan's economic and social development. He noted that Hunan has a rich and time-honored cultural history, superior geographical conditions, a strong industrial foundation, obvious agricultural advantages, and rich tourism resources. Distance cannot separate true friends who remain close even when thousands of miles apart. Hunan and Barbados have a solid foundation for cooperation in agriculture, culture, and tourism, with strong industrial complementarity and a high degree of compatibility. Both sides signed a memorandum of agricultural cooperation. Hunan is building vegetable greenhouses in Barbados, actively expanding experimental upland rice cultivation, and providing assistance to promote the development of Barbados' agricultural modernization of Barbados.
Mao mentioned that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the "Belt and Road" Initiative (BRI), and hoped that the establishment of the province-city ties would provide an opportunity for both sides to deepen cooperation in advanced manufacturing, cultural tourism, international logistics, agriculture, and education. Under the guidance of the BRI framework, both sides could work together towards a brighter future and seek common development, he added.
Prime Minister Mottley remarked that despite the geographical distance between Barbados and China, the two peoples have forged an enduring friendship. The people of Barbados will never forget the selfless assistance provided by Hunan during the critical juncture of joining hands to fight the epidemic, truly a symbol of solidarity and friendship between the two countries. Barbados is willing to deepen pragmatic collaboration with Hunan in education, finance, trade and logistics, tourism, and agriculture; promote substantive, solid and sustained progress in BRI cooperation; and, better benefit the people of both countries.
In the afternoon, Governor Mao and Minister Symmonds signed an agreement on the establishment of the friendly province-city relationship at the Great Hall of the People. According to the agreement, the two sides will start active exchanges and cooperation in mutually beneficial fields such as agriculture, manufacturing, culture, tourism, health, education, and construction.
Barbados is the easternmost island nation in the islands of eastern Caribbean of North America, with an area of 431 square kilometers and a population of 289,000. Its GDP reached 5.79 billion CNY in 2022, with a per capita GDP of approximately 20,000 USD, making it one of the better-developed economies in the Caribbean. Boasting rapid growth in tourism, offshore finance, light manufacturing, and information services, it is a world-renowned offshore financial center. Bridgetown, the capital city located on the southwest coast of Barbados, has a population of approximately 100,000 and is the political, economic, cultural and transportation center of the country and a trade hub of the Eastern Caribbean region.
The photos above were taken by Liu Shangwen.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Yu Jiangjiang
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn
