PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – China yesterday announced a three billion US dollar concessionary facility for eight Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries as President Xi Jingping ended a three-day state visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
The Chinese leader met with leaders of the CARICOM countries that have diplomatic relations with Beijing rather than Taiwan that China regards as a renegade province in bilateral discussions and later at a luncheon.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar told reporters that the President Xi announced at the luncheon “that he will be contributing three billion US dollars in concessional financing for the CARICOM region.
“We did thank him for that very generous gesture. The three billion dollar are for infrastructure projects, 1.5 billion and another 1.5 billion for other kinds of development projects in the region,” she said.
“We really welcomed that generosity which is a manifestation of the friendship we share and our ties as nations together,” she said, adding she had no problem with the funds being made available to CARICOM countries that support the “One China” policy. (CMC)