Mauritius: Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games demonstrated the unifying power of sports, says Vice-President

Download logo

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games bear testimony to the fact that the world has placed its trust in the People’s Republic of China and demonstrated the unifying power of sports. Through the Games, people have been united as one Olympic family, regardless of their nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and cultural origins. Their understanding has deepened and their friendship renewed.

This was the gist of the message of the Vice-President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Marie Cyril Eddy Boissezon, at a closing ceremony of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games organised by the New China Foundation, in Port Louis. His message was delivered by the President of the New China Foundation, Mr Jean Paul Lam.

Private Parliamentary Secretaries (PPS), Mr Ismaël Rawoo and Mr Rajanah Dhaliah; Members of Parliament (MP), Mrs Sandra Mayotte and Mr Fabrice David; the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Liying Zhu; and other personalities were present on the occasion.

Mr Lam indicated that the Vice-President congratulated the Chinese Authorities for the smooth running of the Games despite the COVID-19 pandemic that continued to loom over athletes, consigning them to closed doors, masks, and inopportune PCR tests. “The last 16 days have seen some superb sporting performances and sportsmanship with athletes from as many as 90 countries who have participated in the Games with the Olympic spirit,” he pointed out.

For her part, Mrs Mayotte commended the commitment and efforts of the Chinese Government for the quality of the organisation of the Games and of the various competitions, as well as for the spirit of fair play and brotherhood that prevailed. The athletes, she underlined, have shown great perseverance, and have given their best in an environment of fair play, thereby achieving incredible results.

As for Mr David, he recalled that the People’s Republic of China and Africa organised a China-Africa Young Leaders Forum in November 2021 with the aim of reinforcing ties among African countries and China, where several Mauritian Parliamentarians including himself participated. This international summit is part of the excellent political cooperation relations between China and the African continent and enabled both Mauritius and China to advance cooperation in particular as regards the youths in politics, he stated.

For their part, Mr Rawoo and Mr Dhaliah both said that China and Mauritius have a long history of friendship and stressed that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries, bilateral relations have always been moving forward steadily, nearing 50 years of relationship. Mr Rawoo thanked China for its long-term help and support for the development of Mauritius, and more recently for helping the country acquire vaccines against COVID-19.

As for Mr Zhu, he emphasised that even if Mauritius has not been able to participate in the Beijing 2022 Games, China attaches great importance to China-Mauritius relations and will continue to support the sports culture of Mauritius.

Speaking of Mauritius water sports, he underscored that Mauritian sportsmen and women are welcome to come to China so as to gain more experience in these disciplines. “Traditionally, China and Mauritius have had excellent cooperation in this field and the Côte d'Or National Sports Complex is a testimony to this,” he added.

As regards bilateral relations, Ambassador Zhu highlighted that preparations are ongoing for the post-COVID era. Ambitious programmes aimed at reviving sports exchanges between Mauritius and China must be prepared along with green development and environmental protection which also form part of our cooperation, he concluded.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Mauritius.