Carmona ponders schols to China

Carmona made this suggestion to new Chinese ambassador to TT, Song Yumin, after Yumin presented his letters of credence to Carmona on Monday at the Office of the President in St Ann’s, Port-of-Spain.

The President told the ambassador he could “personally attest” to the skills of Chinese medical personnel, having seen the quality of their treatment in healing the ailments of many people in south Trinidad.

He said apart from TT nationals seeking to study medicine in countries such as Cuba, opportunities should be offered to citizens of this country to study in China if they wished.

Carmona noted this would have to be the subject of conversation between the Governments of TT and China.

As he disclosed that five members of staff at the Office of the President were enrolled in courses at the Confucius Institute at the University of the West Indies’ St Augustine Campus, Carmona said the teaching of foreign languages must begin at the pre-school level and not from secondary school.

He suggested this teaching should not be restricted to Spanish and French but other languages as well, such as Mandarin.

Carmona observed that while TT is in close proximity to Venezuela, it was “a serious indictment” that Spanish was not the second language in this country.

The President explained that by learning a second language, the people of this country would be able to foster a closer togetherness with people from other countries.

Carmona praised China for the leadership role it plays in the world and the efforts of the Chinese in assisting in the national development of TT.

He identified infrastructure as one example of this assistance.

In response, Yumin thanked Carmona for the strong diplomatic ties which have endured over the years between TT and China.

Yumin, who previously served in TT ten years ago, noted that this country was one of the first to support the One-China Policy.

He praised Carmona for an initiative he started, whereby secondary school students attended functions at the Office of the President and had the ability to interact with foreign diplomats.

As he fielded questions from the students, Yumin told them he came from humble beginnings and his parents were both school teachers.

The ambassador urged them to set life goals and develop a discipline to work towards the achievement of their goals.