 Continuing cooperation between St. Lucia and Taiwan has inspired another injection of grant funding to support projects and programs. Itemized in Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Piers Maiden 2022-2023 budget presented earlier in April, Taiwan remains a strategic development partner and an important diplomatic ally to St. Lucia. On December 19th, Taiwan Ambassador to St. Lucia, His Excellency Peter Chen, handed over $5.1 million E.C. dollars in grant funding to support nine bilateral projects. The cross-partnership between Taiwan and St. Lucia has continued to grow stronger with increasingly diversified and timely bilateral cooperation projects. Under the leadership of Hon. Prime Minister Philip J. Piers, with the support and collaboration from the Cabinet ministers and their teams in the ministries, all of those projects are based on the People-Centered principle, and which is the fundamental factor of democracy. Today, I take pleasure to demonstrate this staunch friendship and great partnership again for delivering on behalf of the Taiwan government funding for nine projects. $2.9 million E.C. dollars has been allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture to finance the Coco Sector Enhancement Project, the Boys to Men Mushroom Project, and the development of the honey and sea moss industries. Allocations have also been made to facilitate upgrades and repairs to fisheries facilities in castries, denry, and V4. An allocation of $1 million E.C. dollars has been secured for the Labry Market and Square Reconstruction Project. $150,000 E.C. dollars will be used to upgrade the VG Sports Complex in castries. The Education Ministry will receive $50,000 E.C. dollars to support the Sustainable School Garden Project. More than $785,000 E.C. dollars will be used to undertake upgrades and repairs to the Baudelaire Correctional Facility, and the Ministry of Finance will utilize $200,000 E.C. dollars to undertake administrative improvements to various government departments. All these projects I see are People-Centered projects, and they were part of our budget. When I made the budget presentation, we spoke about these projects using the Taiwanese grant funds on the line of grant funds. But what is important is implementation. We cannot have all these projects on the books, and the implementation is not happening. So we will not have a refrain of there is no money. The money is there. The check is going to be handed over today, so the money is available. But we need to get to the implementation of these projects, and we need the public service to begin the implementation. So there cannot be any excuse that budget is over. That money is going to flow into the next budget. The checks from the people and government of Taiwan and delivered by His Excellency Chen were received by Accountant General Matthew Branford and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Development, Claudia C. Manuel, on behalf of the Government of St. Lucia. From the Office of the Prime Minister, Rihanny Isidou.