The Deputy Chief of the Chinese Embassy Hu Wei paid a visit to the Eastern Province from 8th to 10th December, to follow up the distribution of China’s recent donations to the island in various ways, including 10.6 million litres of diesel to farmers and fishermen, 9,000 metric tons of rice to students from underprivileged families and 100 sets of solar streetlights donated by China’s Yunnan Province to 38 schools across the Eastern Province.
A Chinese embassy press release said that on the afternoon of 8th December, DCM Hu Wei met with Anuradha Yahampath, Governor of Eastern Province at the latter’s secretariat in Trincomalee. Both sides exchanged ideas on further promoting cooperation between China and the Eastern Province and other topics of mutual interest. They also joined local principals in a hand-over ceremony of the 100 sets of solar streetlights donation.
DCM Hu Wei visited Abhayapura Primary School in Trincomalee and Korakallimadu Sri Ramana Maharishi School in Batticaloa, interacted with teachers and students and gifted rice packs donations and panda backpacks to the pupils. The diplomat also visited the paddy field at Nochchikulam, Trincomalee and the beach in Kaluwankerney, met with local farmers and fishermen and handed over a batch of diesel to them. It was highlighted that the 10.6 million litres of diesel provided by China to Sri Lanka free of cost will benefit 232,749 farmers for harvesting 342,266 hectares of paddy fields in Maha season 2022/23 and all the 3,796 fishing vessels below 40 feet in the island.
On the afternoon of the 9th, the Chinese Embassy delegation was invited by the Batticaloa District Civil Society to Kaluwankerni, an underdeveloped Tamil fishing village in Batticaloa, where the first phase of 10 houses had already been built to help most needy families by the Embassy. DCM Hu had a discussion with the villagers and Batticaloa District Civil Society representatives and officially launched Housing Project Phase II for the villagers.
During the visit, DCM Hu Wei broadly met with local government officials, civil society representatives, farmers, fishermen, housewives, teachers, students and deeply encouraged by their high praise and friendship towards China, especially for the support of PPEs, vaccines, housing, education, rice, medicines, and fuel donation in the past year. Hu reassured them of China’s continued assistance to Sri Lankan people of all communities in the coming months to overcome current challenges.