Vice-President Yosiwo P. George Participated at the Turn-Over Ceremony of the Okat Bridge in Kosrae

The Honorable Vice-President Yosiwo P. George participated at the Turn-Over Ceremony of the Okat Bridge in the State of Kosrae, which was held in the morning of January 21, 2015.  The new Okat Bridge is funded by the government of the People’s Republic of China to replace the old bridge in Okat.  The Okat Bridge project is one of the largest projects and the first of its kind, ever donated to the Federated States of Micronesia by the Government of the People’s Republic of China and another largest project ever donated to Kosrae by the Chinese Government.  The Kosrae High School project that was built six years ago, is another important project resulting from the China-FSM Cooperation. The new Okat Bridge project was constructed by a Chinese company, Scichuan Road and Bridge Group Cooperation Company and started back in October 2014.

In his statement, Vice-President George expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the people and Government of the People’s Republic of China through Ambassador Li Jie, who was attending the turn-over ceremony on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China. The Vice-President indicated that he was happy to see a huge crowd gathered in Okat to witness the ceremony, which was an indication of great appreciation and thankfulness for the successful completion of the important project. Toward the end, he conveyed that the FSM National leadership shares the same feeling of pride and appreciation for the completion of the bridge. Vice-President George also indicated that it was a coincidence that the grand opening of the Okat Bridge took place, in the New Year 2016, which marks the FSM’s 30th Anniversary of our FSM Independence.

He stated that the new bridge is and would become a permanent landmark in Kosrae.  It would stand as a symbol of the strong partnership between FSM and China and the friendship of our people and would not only symbolize a strong connection and a permanent bridge between FSM and China but would actually improve the connection and access from the main island of Kosrae with the important commercial area and would encourage business and commercial development.

He reiterated that the FSM highly values and enjoys its diplomatic relationship with China, which was forged 27 years ago and that the FSM has remained committed and will continue to respect China’s policies, including One-China Policy.

He concluded his statement by thanking the officials and workers of Sichuan Road and Bridge Group Cooperation Company, the project contractor, for their hard and excellent workmanship.

While in Kosrae, Vice-President George held meetings with the leadership of Kosrae as well as with Ambassador Li and his staff.  He was accompanied to the ceremony by Second Lady Antilise George and representatives from the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure (TC&I).