The Hon. K. D. Knight, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade,

Distinguished Guests,

Members of the Sligoville Community,

Friends from China Shanxi Engineering Group,

Friends from the media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Good afternoon.

 

This is my first time to Sligoville. I regret not having come earlier. It is a beautiful place, and Minister Knight, your folks are just so hot.

 

But I do come at the right time! We will today shovel the first spadeful of soil for the project which will give the people of Sligoville in about one year’s time a most beautiful multi-purpose Sports Complex. Please accept my warm congratulations to the ground breaking ceremony of the Sligoville Sports Complex on behalf of the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

 

When the foreign minister of a country was once a famous sportsman, one can imagine how much this country values sports and how much weight a sports complex carries in their life. As a Kingdom of Sports, Jamaica really has a lot to be proud of. Jamaica’s glory in the field of sports dates back to the 1930s when George Headley’s legendary performances won him the good name of “Atlas” in the cricket circle. Jamaica has never been short of talented young men and young women to challenge the world records. A good example is Asafa Powell, who set the world’s 100-meter dash record at 9.77 seconds. Asfar Powell said shortly after breaking the record that “it shows no one knows how fast a man can run”, but we know he is the fastest man on earth, perhaps until some one trained in this complex takes his place.

Sport helps to build one’s body and mind. It is also a force to bring national pride. Jamaica is a country small in size, but who can deny the dignity in the eyes of Mr. Powell and Miss Campbell when they received the gold medals.

 

We congratulate the Jamaican people on their achievements in sports and support them in their endeavour to reach higher goal. That’s why when Minister Knight approached us in early 2003 on behalf of the Jamaican Government with the idea of building Sligoville Sports Complex by using Chinese grant aid, the Chinese Government gave a quick and positive response. The visits to Jamaica of Chinese Vice Premier Mme. Wu Yi in January and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in September 2003, as well as Minister Knight’s visit to China in February 2004, had sped up the signing of an economic and technical cooperation agreement, the result of which is a sports complex to be built here in Sligoville.

 

Long before I came here, Sligoville was already a familiar name to me. Its history and natural beauty were the repeated topics of Minister Knight. From him I have learned that Sligoville is famous for its mild climate and picturesque scenery. Established in 1835, Sligoville is the first free village in the Caribbean, and has played an important role in Jamaica’s history of winning independence and freedom. “Seeing is believing”. Sligoville is indeed a wonderful place, and a suitable site for this project. I am honoured to be the first ambassador from the current Diplomatic Crops to be here.

 

Let me say a few more words about the project. The project, when completed, will be a multi-purpose sports complex good for all kinds of sports items: football, cricket, basketball, netball, track and field, and table tennis. It will be the first multi-purpose sports complex in St. Catherine. It can serve the local people not only as a world standard training base, but also a catering and sporting venue for both students and residence. It will become a new community center, enhance the local tourism industry, provide more job opportunity, and help Sligoville to serve its residents better. This Complex will be an ideal gift to the people of Sligoville from the Government and people of China.

 

This Sports Complex is also a good indication of the genuine friendship and sound relationship between China and Jamaica, for which I think I should say “thank you” to Mr. Knight as the Foreign Minister of Jamaica.

 

At present, the Sino-Jamaican relations are in excellent shape. The year 2005 witnessed a rapid progress in bilateral relations: the high-level visits of Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong to Jamaica in February and Prime Minister P. J. Patterson’s visit to China in June 2005 gave further impetus to the relations. Minister Knight visited China in July the same year and presided over the official opening of the Jamaican Embassy in China. Bilateral economic and trade cooperation was also further strengthened, with some projects progressing smoothly.

 

Cooperation and exchange programmes in the field of sports have also been greatly promoted. I am happy to tell you that another sports complex project that China is helping Jamaica to build, the Greenfield Sports Complex, is going well on schedule. China has sent 2 table tennis coaches to Jamaica to train your national players. A Chinese badminton coach also came recently to give short-time training. China also benefits from the sports exchanges. Not long ago, with personal support from Minister Simpson-Miller, Mr. Donald Kuarry, the formal world champion in the 100-meter dash went to Guangzhou to conduct a week-long seminar attended by coaches and sprinters across China. We welcome and will encourage more exchanges programmes like this in the future.

 

Today, I’m pleased to share with everyone of you the excitement and joy of this ground-breaking. I have high expectations for the construction team from China Shanxi Engineering Group. I am fully confident that they can finish the whole project with high quality and with the “Powell Speed” – I used to say “China Speed”, now I have to make the change so as to make the project progress even faster. At the same time, I also hope that the Jamaican government and local people will facilitate the construction project by providing conveniences and security. I believe, with our joint efforts, we could gather in Sligoville again next May to celebrate the completion of the Sports Complex.

 

Finally, I’d like to thank Minister Knight for the efforts he has made for the project, and all the support given to the project by various ministries.

 

Thank you very much.