The People’s Republic of China officially opened its embassy in the Republic of Honduras on Monday, after the two countries established diplomatic relations on March 26 this year.
The opening ceremony was attended by some 200 people, including Honduras’ second presidential appointee, Doris Gutierrez, Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, and other Honduran officials.
Also present were heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations in Honduras and representatives of Chinese institutions, companies, and communities in the Central American country.
Reina congratulated during the ceremony the inauguration of the Embassy of China and said that establishing bilateral diplomatic relations was an independent decision by the Honduran side, through which it diversifies its international relations and firmly joins the vast majority of countries that recognize the principle of one China.
He stressed that Honduras hopes to promote trade cooperation with China to improve its infrastructure jointly, contribute to increasing the welfare of the Honduran population and promote social prosperity.
He considered China is a fundamental partner of Honduras in all international mechanisms, as well as “a strategic partner” from which “great benefits” would come for the Honduran people.
“This relationship is moving forward with firm and decisive steps,” said the Foreign Minister.
For his part, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Honduras, Yu Bo, recalled at the ceremony that on March 26, the Central American country “seized the historic opportunity to make the important decision to recognize the principle of one China”.
With that decision, Yu said, Honduras became the 182nd country to establish diplomatic relations with China, which China highly appreciates.
“The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and a widely recognized norm of international relations,” he stressed.
Yu referred to China’s path to modernization, which he stressed seeks to materialize China’s development, inject more positive energy into world peace, provide more opportunities for global development, and contribute more to building a community of shared future for humankind.
He highlighted that, less than three months after establishing diplomatic relations between China and Honduras, both parties “have carried out the articulation and cooperation in an accelerated manner in fields such as economy, trade, agriculture, science and technology, culture, education, and media”.
This is “to continuously bring together the consensus and forces of all sectors of both parties to promote the development of bilateral relations”.
“The Embassy of China in Honduras will do its best to fulfill the responsibility of being the window that opens relations between the two countries, the bridge that deepens bilateral cooperation and the link that connects the two peoples,” Yu added.
With information from Xinhua
News Honduras, English news Honduras, Honduran diplomacy
Read More from The Rio Times