Ａｄｄｒｅｓｓ ｂｙ Ｅａｒｌ Ｂｏｕｓｑｕｅｔ， Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ ｏｆ Ｓｔ． Ｌｕｃｉａ－Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ ａｔ Ｓｉｇｎｉｎｇ Ｃｅｒｅｍｏｎｙ ｏｆ

Dear Colleagues，

My delegation and I are very happy to be here to sign this Accord of Friendship between the people of our two countries. It is like a tropical ant stretching a hand of friendship to a Giant Panda. But what could be a more symbolic act of genuine friendship?

Our Association was established on January 27， 2004. That was after a series of meetings and activities that followed a visit to the People’s Republic of China in September 2003 by two members of our delegation. One led a group of Caribbean journalists and the other represented our Government at the China International Fair on Investment and Trade (CIFIT) which took place in Xiamen that year. On September 9， 2003， the entire day at that CIFIT was dedicated to the Caribbean. We， the 21 journalists from 12 Caribbean states， were so impressed with the hospitality we received that on the bus to the airport in Shanghai， we pledged before leaving China that we had to do something to reciprocate. It was on that bus to the Shanghai airport that we decided that the best way to say thanks would be to establish a Friendship Association. Here we are today as testimony to the seriousness of that pledge.

Our Association is proud of what we have achieved in our first year. We have hosted several activities that have attracted the interest of many people in our country. Our membership comprises over 130 persons. This is obviously just a handful in the context of China， but in an island of 238 square miles and 160，000 persons it is a significant number —— and that number is growing. Almost every day we receive application forms or expressions of interest. This is because our people have seen and appreciated the value of our relations with China in the seven years since diplomatic relations were established with your country. We have seen the material value of our diplomatic， political and economic ties， but we have also shared the warmth of friendship with the small but growing Chinese community on our island. In the past two years， two other small Caribbean territories have followed St. Lucia’s example and broken relations with Taiwan and established ties with the People’s Republic of China. Like us， they too have come to understand and accept that there is only one China; and like us， they too have never regretted making that move.

But let me tell you a bit more about our Association. We have been able to attract interest from all sections of our society. This is reflected in the nature of our delegation， which comprises the Executive Committee elected by our members. Our delegation comprises a minister of government， two journalists， a banker， a weather forecaster and a security guard. But that is not all. The Patron of our Association is the former President of the United Nations General Assembly， who is our country’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations and who has since been appointed as St. Lucia’s non-resident Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. Several members of our Cabinet of Ministers have signed application forms for membership of the Association and just before leaving our First Lady， the wife of our Prime Minister， indicated her interest in joining the association.

This high level of interest in our Association is a direct result of how and what people think of China today. The image of China has changed radically over the years， from the images we got from Mao Zedong’s “Red Book” and the karate movies that featured Wang Yu and Chen Sing， to the country that moves the world today. As I have often noted at public functions sponsored by our association， not a day passes without China being featured in the world news; not a day passes without people commenting on China in one way or another; and， as I like to tell persons who ask why they should be members of our association， at any time of any and every day， each and every one of us in any country in the world must be wearing or using something marked “Made in China”. Truly， China is the world’s factory. But more than that， economically speaking， China is the main mover of things on the world stage today. Indeed， we concur with the sentiment expressed in the editorial of the May 12， 2005 issue ofBeijing Review which says: “…in view of globalization and China’s increasing role in the global arena， and Chinese progress can be interpreted as advantage to the international community.Economically speaking， when China gallops， the whole world may come along for the ride.”

Colleagues and Friends，

Our Association shares the objectives of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Like you， we too are committed to the aims of: enhancing people’s friendship， furthering international cooperation， safeguarding world peace and promoting common development. These are noble goals to which we ascribe because， as a nation only 26 years old， we have come to understand and accept that there can be no progress anywhere in the world without friendship， cooperation， peace and development. These are the main factors that drive our country’s relations with the rest of the world; and that is why we were able to get the support of the majority of members of the United Nations for the candidacy of St. Lucia for the position of President of the United Nations General Assembly for the year 2004. It is also for these reasons that we in St. Lucia have followed recent developments in China with interest; and it is for these reasons that we felt good about the fact that relations between China’s mainland and Taiwan across the Strait now seem to be at a historic， positive turning point.

Today also marks a historic turning point in the relations between the people of our respective countries. Political， diplomatic and economic relations between the Governments of our respective countries have developed and increased positively in the past seven years; and in the past year our Association has taken serious steps to deepen the friendship and solidarity between the people of our respective countries.

The Memorandum of Understanding or the Agreement which we sign today will further open doors for the broadening and deepening of our friendship between two countries and peoples a world apart， but united by our common goal and aspiration for world peace， solidarity and friendship. The avenues that have been created in the past year will certainly open roads that will bring our people even closer.

We know of the existence of friendship association in only two other Caribbean Community (Caricom) states (Guyana and Jamaica) and we are certainly glad to be the third in Caricom. But we are the first in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) which comprises the six smallest Caricom member-states and we have no doubt that our example will be followed in the other islands and territories of the Caribbean. Indeed， with your support， we hope to be able to engage in activities that will bring together interested persons and organizations in the other Caribbean islands who may be interested in taking similar steps to organize national associations for friendship with China.

Our visit to China takes us to Beijing， Xiamen and Shanghai. As China being the host country for the 2008 Olympic Games， we look forward to St. Lucia’s participation in and attendance at the Games of the next Olympiad in Beijing. Similarly， we look forward to St. Lucia’s participation in the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010. In Xiamen， which exhibits similar island features as our own， we look forward to continuing St. Lucia’s participation in the annual Caribbean Day at the China International Fair on Investment and Trade (CIFIT).

Before leaving St. Lucia， we were overwhelmed with inquiries as to what could be done to arrange for visits to China by members of our private and commercial sector who are interested in developing trade， economic and tourism ties with China. We have invited them to join our Association and promised that the recent agreements between China and five Caribbean countries signed in Jamaica in February at the first China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Fair and Forum ought to result in closer ties between our respective countries. We look forward to increased tourism ties between St. Lucia and China and our Association， through the agreement we sign today， affirms before you that we will continue to promote cultural， sporting and social ties and exchanges between the people of our respective countries.

On behalf of the members of our delegation， I thank you our hosts for this visit and we pledge to fulfill the provisions of our joint agreement in the mutual interest of friendship and solidarity between the peoples of St. Lucia and the People’s Republic of China.

Long Live the friendly relations between our two peoples and countries!

Long Live the ties between the St. Lucia-China Friendship Association and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries!

Thank You.

Beijing

May 18， 2005