Two Officials from the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet have successfully attended a 14-day Seminar on China Aid projects in Beijing and other cities in China recently.
Simon Chottu, Director of the Commodities Export Marketing Authority (CEMA) Cabinet Sub-Committee and Ms. Germana Shanel from the Coordinating and Monitoring Cabinet Committee (CMCC) represented Solomon Islands at the seminar.
Mr. Chottu was given the opportunity to deliver a keynote address during the opening of the Seminar on China-Aid Projects for Latin American, Caribbean, and South Pacific Countries.
In his remarks, he emphasized the importance of shared growth, trade development, and South-South cooperation.
Quoting President Xi Jinping, Mr. Chottu highlighted that China is the second-largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean, and Latin America and the Caribbean a major destination for outbound Chinese investment, second only to Asia.
He said this as a testament to China’s expanding role in global economic development and its inclusive approach to international partnerships.
“This engagement reaffirms our commitment to training, information sharing, and empowerment through multilateral cooperation. Sharing is caring,” Chottu said.
He emphasized how the seminar aligns with the Solomon Islands Government’s prioritizes the revitalization of the commodities sector, modernize agriculture, and enhance value-added production.
“This seminar not only strengthens our ties but also supports critical investments that improve market access, increase trade volumes, and support the sustainable development of our people.” Said Mr. Chottu
“It is indeed a great honour and privilege to be able to attend this very informative seminar program and at the same time represent my country Solomon Islands,” he added.
“The two weeks of interactions through lectures, field trips and conversations with the Chinese people has broadened my knowledge on China’s rich culture, history, politics and economy. More importantly, it gave more insight on the China Foreign Aid Policy and how it assisted and helped the Latin America, Caribbean and the South Pacific Countries in the past 30+ years through their Grants, Interest-free loans and Concessional loans. The knowledge acquired during the training will definitely be utilized in my work place,” said Ms. Shanel.
The program, which includes nine lectures in Beijing and several field visits to Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen brings together 35 participants from 10 countries across Latin America, Caribbean, and South Pacific regions; namely Nauru, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Uruguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the Solomon Islands.
It provides a platform for participants to engage with China’s successful aid project models and explore areas for future cooperation.
“I believe we came together with a shared mission – to learn, upskill, and explore ways to transform our economies and uplift the lives of our people back home. This partnership has truly stood as a beacon of progress, resilience, and prosperity,” Mr. Chottu concluded.
