Photo taken on May 21, 2020 shows the buses donated by China to Fiji Rugby Union in Suva, Fiji. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)
China donated two buses to Fiji Rugby Union to help the island nation further develop the sport and deepen exchanges and cooperation of both countries in the field of rugby.
SUVA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China donated on Thursday two buses to Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) to help the island nation further develop the sport.
Speaking at a handover ceremony in the Fiji capital Suva on Thursday, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo said that the Fiji national rugby 7s team is the pride of the island nation and also one of the most successful rugby 7s teams in the world, he believed the two buses will facilitate the transportation and training for the 7s teams players and other FRU teams around the country.
The ambassador also said that rugby is now becoming popular in China and both the Chinese national men's and women's rugby teams have strong competitiveness and development potential. He hoped that both countries could deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of rugby in the years to come.
Fiji's Prime Minister and president of the Fiji Rugby Union Voreqe Bainimarama (4th L), Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo (3rd L) and Fijian rugby players pose for a group photo at the handover ceremony in Suva, Fiji, May 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)
For his part, Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, also president of the FRU, thanked China for providing the two buses for the FRU.
"On behalf of the Fiji Rugby Union, I am grateful to accept these two new buses provided by the people of China's Guangdong province, both of which will lighten the half-a-Million-Dollar annual cost of transporting our women's and men's 7s and 15s sides to and from training and tournaments, as well as the staff of the FRU," he said.
The two buses were provided by Guangzhou, capital city of China's Guangdong province.■
