PM Gaston Browne to head delegation on week-long visit to China

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne will lead the national delegations on a week-long visit to the People’s Republic of China.

The delegations of the twin island nations and their Chinese counterparts will sign ten Memorandums of Understanding during the event. The agreements will address climate change under the framework of South-South Cooperation, an agreement on Mutual Visa exemption and an agreement to accelerate the formulation of the Cooperation plan on the Belt and Road initiative.

The leader of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, is accompanied by many delegates, including,

• Sir Molwyn Joseph, the Minister of Health, Wellness, Social Transformation and the Environment
• E.P Chet Greene, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs
• Brian Stuart-Young, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
• Michael Joseph, Chairman of the National Solid Waste Management Authority and Ambassador
• Lionel Hurst is Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Moreover, Sir Molwyn, the Minister for Health, Wellness, Social Transformation and the Environment, will sign an agreement with Alibaba Damo Academy and Hospitals to provide the facility equipment for early cancer screening and digital health. This deal will also bring the facility to provide doctors with AI-powered tools. The agreement will also provide a framework for the identification of chronic diseases.

It is expected that E.P. Chet Greene, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs, will pen down an agreement between the China Media Group and the Antigua and Barbuda Broadcasting Services in order to enhance development and cooperation. The signing of the agreements by Minister Greene includes the Water Rehabilitation Project. Along with that, the Minister will also sign a deal for the provision of equipment for the Port of St John’s. This deal is likely to give a helping hand to the Anti-Narcotics Laboratory Project funded by China.

PM Gaston Browne’s plan for Tuesday in China 

Prime Minister Gaston Browne will attend the official opening of the Antigua and Barbuda Embassy in the People’s Republic of China. He will join the other members of the nation’s delegation.

PM Gaston Browne’s plan for Wednesday in China 

Prime Minister Gaston Browne will discuss the community of shared future for mankind and the Global Development Initiative in his first official meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping and the other members of the Cabinet.

It is expected that PM Gaston Browne will shed light on China’s commitment to creating a healthy and better future for developing nations. The nations whose population is most suffering from debt, denial of established capital markets, and natural disasters.

While recognising China’s commitment, PM Gaston Browne stated in the past that “Chinese vision of a global community of shared future has been deepened and its scope widened to bring prosperity, stability and substantive benefits to millions of people worldwide, in need of relief.”

Benefits provided by China to Antigua and Barbuda

• Within the past ten years, China has contributed to two health clinics that have played a pivotal role in enhancing the major population of Antigua.
• China has also built classrooms and administrative blocks free of cost for the benefit of the University at Five Islands, Antigua, which has been a great help to the institution.
• China Export/Import Bank has funded the rehabilitation of St. John’s Cargo Seaport and also the updating of the International Airport terminal.
• China offered five scholarships through the Chinese Scholarship Council.
• They also granted 200 post-graduate scholarships through the Youth of Excellence Scheme of China Programme.