BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
THE CHINESE Ambassador to the Solomon Islands His Excellency Li Ming has said that Jiangmen City in Southern China’s Guangdong Province is a sister province of Guadalcanal province in the Solomon Islands.
He made the statement during the official handing over ceremony of three new garbage vehicles and 200 garbage bins to Honiara City Council on Guadalcanal from Jiangmen City in China.
The event was officially marked at the Honiara City Council Head office in Honiara on the 3rd Friday of September 2021.
“Today is my great pleasure to attend the handover ceremony of three garbage trucks donated as a gift by Jiangmen city in Guangdong province, a sister province of Guadalcanal. It is a perfect match. The capital City of Solomon Islands, Honiara has established a sister relationship with Jiangmen City in Guangdong province of China,’’ he said.
Ambassador Li Ming described the gift as a symbol of friendships between the people of Jiangmen city and the people of Honiara city also symbolizing the friendship of the PRC to the people of Solomon Islands.
“The trucks have traveled along the way by ocean for two months. This is not easy in the face of the covid19 pandemic however with the cooperation between Honiara city and Jiangmen city and the support of our friends, the truck had arrived,’’ he said.
“I want to extend the greetings from lord mayor to Jiangmen city to the mayor of Jiangmen and his people. So today my friends it’s my great honor and privilege to share the excitement and joy with all of you city counselors. You’re leaders of the city and you have contributed a lot to the development, management of the city,’’ said Li Ming.
He however said that he has been witnessing the challenges faced by HC and its citizens on waste disposal and other environmental issues. He adds that he had also aware from friends of the urgent need for garbage trucks and disposal capability in Honiara.
“That’s why Jiangmen city has responded very positively and quickly extending their helping hands to Honiara city. They generously donated three all-new garbage trucks that make today’s handover ceremony and our meeting possible,’’ Li Ming told City Councillors.
‘So my friends, Jiangmen and Honiara relationship is the model of China-SI sub-regional cooperation. Between the two cities, we have seen a real model with close cooperation and deep friendship and I want to highly appreciate the lord mayor for your support and the city counselor’s support.
“Between Jiangmen and Honiara, the economy is highly complementary so we have more opportunities and cooperation. I looked forward to deeper, mutual engagement, more mutual understanding, and the despite the difficult times of covid19 pandemic our relationship has a very bright future and prospect,” he said.
“We have a long way to go, and we have a lot to achieve in the future and the Chinese Embassy stands ready to continue to provide our sincere support and assistance for the relationship between City of Honiara and Jiangmen.
“Of course to conclude as Lord Mayor said I’m proud to complement the 3 all-new garbage trucks the Chinese embassy together with Jiangmen City, we are thoughtful, we provide 200 garbage bins so that it can form a very good chain of environmental protection.
“I sincerely hope that these trucks and bins could further enhance the waste disposal capabilities of the city of Honiara and to make the city of Honiara more beautiful, much cleaner and for people to live a better life,’’ said Chinese Ambassador His Excellency Li Ming.