CHINA PRESENTS MEDICAL DONATIONS

CHINA PRESENTS MEDICAL DONATIONS

On 7^th May 2020, a handover ceremony for donations from China’s Shandong Province in support of Botswana’s COVID-19 prevention and control was held at the Chinese Embassy in Gaborone. H.E. Dr. Zhao Yanbo, Chinese Ambassador to Botswana, Hon. Dr. Lemogang Kwape, Minister of Health and Wellness and other Chinese and Botswana officials attended the ceremony.

The donation includes 30,000 surgical masks, 1,000 N95 masks and 6,000 surgical gloves. This is the fourth batch of medical materials donated from China to Botswana. the previous three batches are:

26th Match: The first donation by China’s Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation including 100,000 masks, 20,000 testing kits, 1,000 PPE as well as other personal protective gears.

28th March: The first donation by the Chinese government including 1,000 face masks, 500 PPE, 300 infrared thermometers, goggles, gloves and shoe covers for medical use.

16th April: The second donation by China’s Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation including 18,900 swabs and viral transport medium, 18,912 extraction kits, 3,700 medical protective clothing, 3,800 face shields, 2 ventilation machines, 36 thermometers, 9,500 medical gloves and 10,320 N95 masks.

In addition, the fifth batch, i.e. the second donation by the Chinese government including 150,000 masks, 15,000 N95 masks, 5,000 PPEs, 7,000 goggles, 7,000 medical gloves and 3,000 shoe covers will arrive any time soon.

Shandong is a coastal province of the People’s Republic of China, located in the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization and is the hometown of Confucius, the most revered educator and philosopher in ancient China. The city of Tai’an, named after Mount Tai, one of the most famous mountains in the world and a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage site, established sister-city relationship with Francistown, Botswana in 2008.

Attachment: Remarks by Chinese Ambassador Dr. Zhao Yanbo at the Handover Ceremony for Medical Materials Donated by China’s Shandong Province

Remarks by Chinese Ambassador Dr. Zhao Yanbo

At the Handover Ceremony for Medical Materials

Donated by China’s Shandong Province

Hon. Dr. Lemogang Kwape, Minister of Health and Wellness,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the Chinese Embassy. Today we gathered here to have a brief handover ceremony for the materials donated by China’s Shandong Province in support of Botswana’s fight against COVID-19. I thank you all for coming.

As you can see, behind me are 30,000 surgical masks, 1,000 N95 masks and 6,000 surgical gloves donated by Shandong Province, where the city of Tai’an established sister city relationship with Francistown back in 2008. Since Botswana confirmed its first COVID-19 cases, local government and the people in Shandong have been following the situation here closely. While making all-out efforts to combat COVID-19 at home, Shandong has moved quickly in preparing the needed medical supplies and delivering them to Botswana, a vivid demonstration of true friendship between our two peoples.

The year 2020 not only marks the 45^th anniversary of the establishment of China-Botswana diplomatic ties but also witnesses our two countries and peoples standing shoulder by shoulder to fight coronavirus, the common enemy of mankind. To help our Botswana brothers and sisters, the Chinese central government, local government, enterprises and the Chinese community in Botswana are all taking concrete actions. Up to now, four batches of materials, one from the Chinese government, one from Shandong Province, and two from Jack Ma Foundation have arrived. And the fifth batch from the Chinese government will soon be ready to ship. The Chinese enterprises and community here have also pledged cash and donation-in-kind of about 11 million pula to show their solidarity with Botswana.

As the first country to donate medical supplies to Botswana, China focuses on providing practical assistance that Botswana can put into the fight against COVID-19 immediately. In the meantime, we fully shared China’s experiences with Botswana on epidemic prevention and control. We are not interested in lip service or playing with figures. I believe the friendship between us is more precious than gold. We sincerely hope these donated materials can help Botswana win the battle against COVID-19 and get its economic and social development back on track at an early date. And we firmly believe that once we jointly overcome this pandemic challenge, China-Botswana relations will be further elevated to a new height.

Thank you.