On 17 June, 2023, H.E. Ambassador Wang Lixin attended the Launching Ceremony of Chinese Ophthalmic Medical Experts Bright Journey, and delivered her remarks as follows:
Honorable Mr. Ahmed Naseem, Minister of Health,
Respected Mr. Ismail Rafeeq, Mayor of Fuvahmulah City,
Respected MPs and members of the city council,
Dear doctors & nurses,
Ladies, gentlemen and dear friends,
Very Good afternoon!
It gives me great pleasure to attend today’s launching ceremony of Chinese Ophthalmic Medical Experts Bright Journey. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Minister Naseem, Mayor Rafeeq and Fuvahmulah Hospital for your strong support for this meaningful event and to all the doctors and nurses for your great contribution.
On February 14 this year, the China-Maldives Eye Center assistance & cooperation program was successfully launched in Hulhumalé Hospital. Since then, as a BRI Project to improve the people’s livelihood, the Center has become a new landmark of China-Maldives friendship. Over the past four months, the Chinese doctors with help of the local doctors & nurses have treated over 1,700 patients and performed over 140 surgeries, which brought light to many locals and was warmly welcomed and highly appreciated by the Maldivian people. Some friends even tweeted to express their gratitude to the Chinese medical team.
At the same time, more than 800 patients are waiting to be treated, some of whom are from faraway islands. Therefore, we realize that eye-treatment service in the greater Male area is far from enough. It should reach out to those faraway islands and provide those in need an equal opportunity for the access to the quality medical service. That is why we initiated and arranged this Bright Journey program. The Chinese doctors and nurses here today have brought with them advanced equipment and first-class professional skill which will certainly bring hope to many locals.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Medical cooperation is a very important part of the all-round substantive cooperation between China and Maldives. Together, we have made remarkable progress in medical cooperation in the past years in the fields of equipment donation and experience sharing, especially in our joint efforts in fighting against Covid-19 pandemic. We have donated 200,000 doses of vaccines and a large amount of equipment to Maldives. Recently, with set-up of the eye center in Hulhumale hospital, we are blazing the trail for a new model of cooperation with success. The Chinese medical team in the eye center has not only treated patients there, but also provided medical training to the doctors and nurses of HMH and IGMH, even held an online training course for all Maldivian eye doctors, which significantly improved medical skills of the Maldivian doctors. Just as a Chinese saying goes, “Offering a fish to people is not as good as teaching them how to fish”. We are proud to say that by providing training opportunities, we have set up a new model of cooperation which has helped the Maldivian side strengthen its self-development capability and build your own eye center in the future. With the Chinese team and medical supplies they brought, I believe this Bright Journey will not only benefit the local patients but also benefit the local doctors and nurses in the Fuvahmulah Hospital. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, the Chinese medical team not only saves lives, but also build friendship. I think the Bright Journey program will certainly help enhance the mutual understanding & friendship between our two peoples.
Ladies and gentlemen,
President Xi Jinping has on many occasions expressed the readiness of the Chinese side to work together with the international communities to build a global community of health for all, which has been warmly welcomed and actively implemented here in Maldives.
Besides the eye center, we have provided post-covid equipment with UNDP to Health Ministry of Maldives, from which Fuvahmulah hospital will also benefit. And we are also planning to help build four regional hospitals on four islands in Maldives. With these cooperation, I firmly believe that the livelihood of the Maldivian people will be greatly improved, which will help the realization of global community of health for all.
Finally, may I wish the Bright Journey a full success and more patients will soon see the light again!
Long live China-Maldives friendship!
Thank you very much!
