School trucks provided by China handed over to Kiribati

Sydney [Australia], April 30: Twenty school trucks provided by China were handed over to Kiribati on Friday to help address the transport needs of students living in the Pacific country's outer islands.
Kiribati President TanetiMaamau, Vice President TeueaToatu, Minister for Education Alexander Teabo and other government ministers, and Chinese Ambassador to Kiribati Tang Songgen attended the handover ceremony held in Betio, Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati.
Tang said the school trucks, as part of China's support for Kiribati's outer islands to realize balanced development, will make going to school easier, safer, quicker and happier for local students.
Education is one of the priority fields in developing China-Kiribati relations and cooperation, the ambassador said, citing the providing of Chinese Government Scholarship for Kiribati students to study in China.
Tang said he believed further cooperation between China and Kiribati will bring more benefits to the Kiribati people and more support for the country's sustainable development.
Teabo, on behalf of the Kiribati government, thanked the Chinese side for providing the school trucks and aid in other areas. He said lack of school transport in Kiribati's outer islands has been a pressing issue, noting that in some places local students have to walk a long distance to school.
"China has helped us to make a difference in the life of our future leaders in the outer islands to allow them access education easily," he said.
Source: Xinhua