ST GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):

Grenada's new administration has reaffirmed its com-mitment to the One-China policy.

Prime Minister Tillman Thomas gave the assurance on Wednesday as a delegation from the East Asian country paid him a courtesy call, the first since he assumed office earlier this month.

Chinese Special Envoy Ambassador Zhao Zhenyu, who led the group, said China was committed to strengthening relations with Grenada and recom-mitted Beijing's cooperation in various areas, including health, housing and education, among others.

The delegation also paid a visit to Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Keith Mitchell, whose New National Party (NNP) was swept from power in the July 8 general election that brought Thomas' National Democratic Congress (NDC) to leadership.

Continue work

Mitchell urged China to continue the work started under his previous NNP administration.

He said he regretted that the second phase of the national stadium project was not yet completed and the housing programme earmarked for the country was progressing slowly.

"These projects are extremely important for our people. It is my hope that they can be completed very soon," Mitchell said, calling on the Chinese officials to hold talks with Taiwan as soon as possible to relieve Grenada of its debt. He pointed out that he had made the request while he was prime minister and noted that the Chinese government had promised to deal with the matter after the election.

Debt relief

Mitchell told the team that he would continue to make the call as opposition leader since this debt relief was an important agenda item for Grenada.

In response, Ambassador Zhenyu promised Mitchell that he would take his concerns back to China. He said that Mitchell had a major role to play as an elder statesman and commended him for the leading role he played in normalising relations with China.