More medical supplies donated to Barbados

On July 29, 2020, Ambassador Yan Xiusheng handed over another batch of medical supplies to Barbados donated by Chinese Government, which includes 5,000 N95 respirators and 40,000 surgical masks. Lt. Col. the Hon. Jeffrey Bostic, Minister of Health and Wellness of Barbados and Ms. Janet Philips, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Wellness of Barbados attended the hand-over ceremony.

Ambassador Yan said the donation is one of the outcomes of the Special Virtual Vice-Ministerial Meeting between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of China and Caribbean Countries Having Diplomatic Relations with China on COVID-19, which was co-chaired by Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang of China and Foreign Minister of Dominica on May 12, 2020. Mrs. Simone Rudder, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados and others Permanent Secretaries of foreign ministries of Caribbean countries having diplomatic relations with China attended the meeting. During the meeting, the vice-foreign ministers agreed to intensify efforts to deepen the two sides' comprehensive cooperation and partnership based on the principles of mutual respect and equality, as well as mutual benefit and common development. And China also committed to donate these medical supplies to Barbados and other regional countries.

Ambassador Yan also mentioned that the foreign ministers of China and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries held a special video conference on COVID-19 on July 23, 2020, co-chaired by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Mexican Foreign Secretary. Senator Dr. Hon. Jerome Walcott, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, attended this meeting. In the meeting, ministers further emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation between China and LAC countries to control the spread of the pandemic, safeguard people's health and security and get the economy and society back to normal. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang also expressed China's readiness to mobilize the Special Loan Program for China-Latin America Infrastructure Project to be used to support public health projects in the regional countries.

Minister Jeffrey Bostic and Ms. Janet Philips thanked for the donation from Chinese Government on behalf of the Hon. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley as well as the government and people of Barbados, and said the donations from China have contributed a lot to Barbados' prevention and containment efforts, which is quite critical when Barbados has begun to restore its normal social and economic order. Barbados is looking forward to more cooperation with China in the field of medical and public health, and is willing to join China's efforts to build a global community of health for all.

    

This donation is the seventh batch of the medical supplies that China has provided to Barbados since the outbreak of COVID-19, totally 97,000 surgical masks, 20,000 N95 respirators, 8,450 surgical gloves, 5,030 medical goggles, 5,000 medical gowns, 3,000 swabs, 1,536 test kits, 250 non-contact infrared thermometers and 3 ventilators.

The journalists from Government Information Service, The Barbados Advocate, Barbados Today, Nation news, Caribbean Broadcasting Co-operation and Starcom Network reported this event.