Ambassador Zhou gives a speech
Mr. Zhou and Ms. Chenoweth, Minister of Agriculture, signed the hand-over certificate and then Mr. Zhou gave a speech. He said that under the framework of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, the Chinese side had taken a series of measures to assist African countries in developing their agriculture in recent years. China and Liberia have carried out a range of cooperation on agriculture. The Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre is the biggest China-aided agricultural project in Liberia, embodying the concept of cooperation that could be summarized as a Chinese saying: "Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". Mr. Zhou also said that there was great potential for Liberia to develop its agriculture by making good use of the abundant land resources and ample sunshine and rainfall. Mr. Zhou extended his gratitude to the construction company that overcame lots of difficulties in completing the construction on schedule with assured quality. Mr. Zhou also expressed his thanks to President Surleaf, government officials and the local people for their strong support to the smooth implementation of the project.
Exchanging Hand-over Certificate
President Surleaf gave a speech brimming with warm feelings. She said when the construction of the Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre started in April last year, Mr Zhou promised that the project would be completed by Liberia's Independence Day in 2010. This is a proof that the Chinese people honor their words with real action. They have given a generous gift to the Liberian government and people on the occasion of Liberia's 163rd Anniversary of Independence. The Liberian side would like to extend its gratitude to the Chinese government and Chinese people, as well as to all the Chinese staff participating in the construction. Ms Surleaf highly praised the Chinese government for providing Liberia with "generous, highly efficient and pragmatic" assistance. She said that as a glorious model of the pragmatic cooperation between China and Liberia, the Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre would dramatically promote the agricultural development and food security of Liberia and vigorously push forward the implementation of National Poverty Reduction Strategy.
The head of Hunan Longping High-Tech Project Team also gave a speech at the ceremony.
After the ceremony, accompanied by Ambassador Zhou, President Surleaf visited different functional areas of the Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre with great interests. She spoke highly of the quality and prettiness of the construction.
The China-aided Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre covered an area of 26000 m2 with 2400 m2's structured space. The project is implemented by the Hunan Longping High-Tech Group and construction carried out by Hunan Construction Engineering Group.
