The Hon. Minister,

President of Jamaican Olympic Association (Mr. Mike Fennel),

Vice President of Jamaican Table Tennis Association (Mr. Peter Moo Young),

President of Jamaican Badminton Association,

Players of Jamaican National Table Tennis Team,

Friends of Media,

May I extend a warm welcome to all of you to this brief gathering to officially introduce 2 Chinese table tennis coaches Mr. Xue and Mr. Hu to the Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, Minister of Local Governments, Community Development and Sports as well as to the friends of media.

Both Mr. Xue and Mr. Hu are experienced coaches in China. They began their table tennis career at the age of 6 or 7 and served as table tennis players in the Chinese National Team. Some players of active service in the current Chinese National Team received their personal training and technical guidance at certain times. In the next two years, they are very happy to serve as coaches of Jamaican Table Tennis National Team and hope to contribute to the improvement of techniques of Jamaican players.

You may ask how they are sent to Jamaica by the Chinese Government. You all know that table tennis is China's national ball game. Among 1.3 billion people, maybe half of them are table tennis fans at different times. I myself have been a fan since my childhood. Like Chinese, the Jamaicans also love table tennis. I remember that during 70's Jamaican table tennis team was the strongest in the America and Caribbean region. However due to lack of high-level coaches and young players, the country's table tennis level has gone downhill in recent years.

At the end of last year, the Jamaican Table Tennis Association approached my Embassy, requesting China to send 2 coaches to Jamaica. Supported by the Hon. Minister of Sports, the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade K.D Knight in his visit to China in Feb. this year signed exchanged letters with his Chinese counterpart on China's Sending 2 Coaches to Jamaica.

Mr. Xue and Mr. Hu arrived in Jamaica on November 17 and have already started training with the assistance of Jamaican Table Tennis Association. I sincerely hope that their arrival will facilitate the popularization of table tennis in Jamaica and the improvement of techniques of Jamaican national players.

The Hon. Minister, sports exchanges have added to a new area of cooperation in our bilateral relations. Right now China and Jamaica are enjoying the best relations since the two countries established diplomatic ties 32 years ago. A Jamaican friend in the Bilateral Division of the MFAFT told me recently that China Desk is the busiest in the whole division because there are so many bilateral activities between our two countries. Just this afternoon, a Chinese military aid delegation is coming to Kingston to sign an agreement on China's provision of military logistic goods gratis to Jamaica. And next Monday the 2nd Chinese advance team will begin consultations with Jamaican side on the preparation of the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum co-hosted by the Chinese and Jamaican Governments early next Feb. About the same time China's VP Mr. Zeng Qinghng will have an official visit to Jamaica at the invitation of the Jamaican Government.

Dear friends, you must have noticed that the President of Jamaica Badminton Association is with us today. I'd also like to take this opportunity to donate some badminton equipment to the Association. The equipment is small in quantity, but it represents the friendly sentiments of my Embassy towards the Badminton Association.

Thank you.