It's a great honour for me to be appointed by H.E. President Xi Jinping as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Kiribati. On behalf of the Chinese Government and the Chinese Embassy in Kiribati, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to the Government and people of Kiribati, as well as to the Chinese citizens and residents of Kiribati.
In Kiribati, "taari" means brothers or sisters. Although the Chinese and Kiribati people are geographically separated by thousands of miles, we are "taari" closely connected by the Pacific. As a Chinese poem says, if you have a friend afar who knows your heart, distance cannot keep you apart. Since China and Kiribati resumed diplomatic relations nearly four years ago, bilateral relations have developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples. We are good friends, good partners and good "taari" who respect and support each other. The mutual trust and support between the two countries have become a model of equal treatment between large and small countries. Facts fully prove that the China-Kiribati friendship is in line with the trend of the times and the common interests of the two peoples. Kiribati stands on the right side of history.
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. 2023 is also a critical year for the implementation of the Kiribati 20-Year Vision (KV20) development blueprint, which provides broad space for China-Kiribati cooperation. China is willing to share with Kiribati the development opportunities brought by Chinese Modernization, further synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and KV20, and support Kiribati achieving prosperity.
For me, as the new Chinese Ambassador to Kiribati, the mission is honourable and the responsibility is heavy. I am full of confidence in the prospects of China-Kiribati relations. I believe there is great potential to explore and we are bound to make great achievements! I am ready to work with the people of Kiribati from all walks of life to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, make new and greater contributions to deepening political mutual trust, expanding practical cooperation, promoting people-to-people exchanges, bringing greater benefits to the two peoples, and jointly writing a new chapter of China-Kiribati friendship!