I am very delighted to be present at this signing ceremony of the Agreement on the Economic and Technical Cooperation between the Two Governments. Actually this is the third time that I come to this boardroom, and every time I come, something good happens. The grant under this agreement is one of the many batches of financial assistance provided by the Chinese Government.

China and Namibia are very friendly countries. Our friendship dates back to before your independence. The friendship and fraternity established between the two countries are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of the two countries. The two countries have supported each other on the international arena since Namibian's independence in 1990. In the meantime, China has provided much economic assistance, to the best of our capacity, to Namibian development. Being developing countries, China and Namibia have similar historical experiences and common interests. And China sees it duty bound to give whatever support we can to the Namibian people.

I'd like to sum up some of the projects in Namibia assisted by the Chinese Government. And may I point out that all of the projects that are under financial assistance from China are selected and approved by the Namibian side. From 1990 to 2006, the Chinese Government financed the Namibian Government with many projects, e.g. the After-School Center Project, the Low Cost Housing Project, the Pump Station Project, the Irrigation Project and the Projects of the two Assembly Buildings in Rundu and Outapi respectively, etc. As far as I am told, these projects are functioning well.

To materialize the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, H.E. President Hu Jintao made the commitments to assist Namibian Government in various fields during his State Visit to Namibia in February 2007.

Among the financial assistance promised by President Hu Jintao are:30 Million RMB Yuan Grant; 30 Million RMB Yuan interest free loan, which will be used on the Green Scheme Programme and Aquaculture Project;1 billion RMB yuan concessional loans,70% of which has been put into implementation. In addition, China is giving Namibia two rural schools which are located in Omuthya and Tsumkwe respectively with a total grant of 20 million RMB yuan. They are expected to be completed before July 2009. Besides, as a special gift to Namibia, a third rural primary school, which involves another 7 million RMB yuan, has been granted by the Chinese Government. China is also giving Namibia a hospital with 60 beds. The design study for the new hospital in Omuthya, with a grant of nearly 70 million RMB yuan is now completed and waiting for construction.

Apart from these new assistance projects, there are three on-going old projects financed under Chinese assistance. With a grant of 43 million RMB Yuan (60 million Namibian dollars), the Presidential Residence is expected to be completed at the end of September 2009. The construction design for the Defense Academy Project, which is using an interest free loan of approximate 60 million RMB Yuan (90 million Namibian dollars), is now completed and the construction will kick off within this year. The exchange of letters on the Youth Training Center Project has been signed already, and a Chinese expert team will come to Namibia at the end of February to carry out on-site study and sign the design contract then.

China provides a number of scholarships every year to Namibian students to pursue various academic degrees in Chinese universities. In addition, we also offer around 100 training opportunities each year to Namibian government officials, staff members and professionals ranging from two weeks to six months. Between the year 2006 and 2008, 230 Namibians received such training in China.