China Vice Premier Hui Liangyu pledged his government’s commitment to helping Jamaica with its economic and social development, speaking at the beginning of his visit to the country yesterday.

The two countries have shared relations for 39 years, and signed two Memoranda of Understanding yesterday on agricultural cooperation.

“Both of us have expressed [the] importance we attach to our traditional friendship, and our commitment to further deepening our friendship and promoting cooperation in various areas,” Hui said. “There have been not only proposals coming out of the discussions, but also steps and the policy measures to be taken in the years to come.”

The first agreement, signed by Jamaican State Minister Marlene Malahoo-Forte and China’s Vice Minister of Commerce, Jiang Yaoping, total $3.07 million, and will be provided through an Agreement on Technical Cooperation.

The second deal totals $153,846 in materials from China.

The announcements follow two grants totaling $4.61 million received from Wang at the China-Caribbean Economic Forum in Port of Spain last week.

“We would like to work with the relevant government departments and various quarters on the Jamaican side to continue to deepen our friendship, and work for even greater progress in our bi-lateral cooperation,” Hui said.

–Jamaica Information Service