© Tevita Motulalo
Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano and PRC Ambassador to Tonga HE Wang Donghua, seal the agreement with a handshake at Foreign Affairs Office. Photo: PMO
A grant of $5.6 million (RMB 20 million) from China is to help the Tonga’s economic and technical development.
The grant is a token from China following His Majesty George Tupou V’s recent visit, according to China’s Ambassador to Tonga H.E. Mr Wang Donghua.
Vice-President Xi Jinping informed His Majesty that China is ready with assistance to economic development projects agreed upon by the two countries.
Examples of past such projects include direct military assistance to Tonga Defence, Fa’onelua Convention Centre, the reconstruction loan for the CBD, and reconstruction of Wellington-Ngu Hospital.
Other projects include Vaipua bridge reconstruction in Vava’u, Super health-centres at Mu‘a and Vaini, Tonga and Ha’apai High Schools construction and maintenance, and more than a hundred kilometres of road refurbishment and maintenance throughout the islands.
The “Agreement of Economic and Technical Cooperation” was signed by Prime Minister Lord Tu‘ivakano and H.E. Mr Wang at Foreign Affairs head office in Nuku’alofa last Friday.
Mr. Wang added, “The amount involved in the projects is not big but is genuine with our whole heart, and I perceive the cooperation between our two countries as the way in which friends help friends, and the poor help the poor.”
He stressed that although China’s economy has been growing significantly, but like Tonga, China is still a developing country.
“China is fast developing its economy but it is still a developing country like Tonga. We have lots of challenges to face in developing our economy, but we value our relationship with Tonga,” Mr Wang said.
He also said Tonga and China were “true friends” who have “always treated each other with respect and equality.”
Lord Tu‘ivakano thanked the Chinese government: “The status of the economy is clear to anyone, but help like this is always needed and welcomed and we thank China for providing such assistances.”
He identified Teufaiva Stadium, which is still in relative disrepair since the damage from the last cyclone and needing immediate patch up. Parts of the roofing are still missing.
“And I think it shouldn’t be a great amount of money, but it will help the children during the sports season,” he said.
The specific projects and disbursement procedures remain to be agreed upon by both governments through the Ministry of Finance and the China Development Bank.
- By Tevita Motulalo
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