ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) – Grenada government and opposition officials held three hours of discussions last Friday to discuss possible initiatives involving the Chinese government. The meeting followed the recent visit to Beijing by a three-member Opposition delegation headed by Opposition Leader Tillman Thomas. On their return to Grenada, members of the delegation said they met with several Chinese officials who expressed interest in assisting Grenada, particularly in agriculture and fishing. Acting Prime Minister Gregory Bowen, who headed the government’s delegation to the talks, said afterwards that the concerns raised by the opposition team with regard to assistance from China were already in a very advanced state of development He said that these areas were covered in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in January this year. “I think that the opposition wasn’t aware of the extent to which the co-operation between Grenada and the People’s Republic of China has progressed,” Bowen said, adding, “we took the opportunity to explain to them how far we’ve advanced in implementing the areas of co-operation.” Thomas, who thanked the government for the quick response to his request for the meeting, said matters raised covered areas in agriculture, tourism and business development. He said the opposition was willing to engage the government in discussions on areas of national importance. “Since after (hurricane) Ivan we have taken the stance that we should try to work together on matters of national importance,” Thomas said. “We should, at times, put aside the politics and deal with whatever is going to benefit Grenada,” he added. Reprinted from antiguasun.com