The Chinese Embassy opened in the western San José suburb of Rohrmoser today with a flourish after the two countries signed accords on political dialogue, visas and academic exchanges.
“We have been planting this relationship during the last two and a half months,” since the two countries established diplomatic relations June 1 (TT, June 8), said Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno. “After the planting comes the rain, so that we can harvest.”
So far, the fruits of this harvest are three accords, signed yesterday by Stagno, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei and Chinese Ambassador to Costa Rica Wang Xiaoyuan.
The two ministries agreed to maintain “close political dialogue” by meeting every two years. A second accord will allow government officials from each country to visit the other without a visa for 30 days. A third will promote academic cooperation between the Foreign Service Institutes that form part of each ministry.
This afternoon, high-ranking officials from both countries stood in the embassy's well-groomed garden as the Chinese flag was raised to the tune of the Chinese national anthem. At the cocktail party afterward, Stagno and Yafei chatted in English, champagne in hand, about the Costa Rica's must-see volcanoes and rainforests. |
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