Your Honorable Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, Minister of Health & Social Services

Dear Dr. Nelago Amagulu, Medical Superintendent of Katutura State Hospital

Members of the Chinese medical teams

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very delighted and honored to attend the staff rotating ceremony with the Honorable Minister Shangula. I wish to thank Minister Shangula, the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Katutura State Hospital for their strong support to the work of the Chinese medical team.

We are here today to farewell the 14^th Chinese medical team and welcome their newly-arrived colleagues. I wish to commend the excellent work of Dr. Zhou and his colleagues, who have been serving here for the last 20 months. And I hope that the 15^th Chinese medical team headed by Dr. Li will follow the example of their predecessors and make an even greater contribution to the medical service of Namibia.

This year marks the 60^th anniversary of the dispatch of the Chinese medical teams to other developing countries for the promotion of the international friendship and the people’s health of the recipient countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping personally attaches great importance to this project, and he recently wrote back a letter to the Chinese medical team in the Central African Republic, expressing his appreciation to their work and encourage them to provide an even better service for the local people. President Xi’s letter has provided very important guidance for all the Chinese medical teams abroad.

I’m very happy to note that the project of the Chinese medical team in Namibia has become a special part of China-Namibia friendship. I was told that, since 1996, the successive Chinese medical teams in Namibia treated thousands of the local patients every year, and many of them spoke highly of the loving care they received.

As Chinese Ambassador, I hope very much that our two countries will work even more closely in the area of health. During the Covid-19 pandemic, China and Namibia have offered mutual assistance, which is another testimony that we are friends in need. Currently, our two sides are exploring and developing new cooperative models, as the Walvis Bay Hospital and Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine are establishing a partnership of "Paired Hospitals". And China will also provide more scholarships and training programs for Namibian health personnel.

Honorable Minister Shangula, I look forward to more good news for the friendly exchanges and cooperation in the field of health between our two countries. Your continuous support is extremely important. I hope to count on you guidance and together we will make more achievements in our bilateral cooperation.

Thank you.