Nauruan President David Adeang visited Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University on March 29 as the first stop of his one-day tour of Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province. This is his first visit to the region since China and Nauru reestablished diplomatic ties in January 2024.

Adeang visited the two Nauruan patients who are receiving treatment in the hospital and the Rehabilitation Therapy Center, where members of the Nauruan delegation tried the medical instruments, such as the apparatus for three-dimensional gait analysis and wearable robotic exoskeleton.

The Rehabilitation Therapy Center is located in the building of the Medial Center for Overseas Patients, which is one of the earliest and largest international medical institutions in China. Over the past 40 years, the Medical Center has treated more than 140,000 patients from 92 countries and regions.

"I want to thank everybody, from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the community of Nauru, for looking after our people," Adeang said. He noted that he is looking forward to further medical cooperation with the hospital and Guangdong.

"The prospect of medical cooperation with Nauru is promising since Guangdong and China as a whole have rich experiences in offering medical assistance to Pacific island countries," said Dr. Sun Jian, President of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University.

During the visit, Isabella Dageago, Nauruan Deputy Minister of Education, tried the apparatus for three-dimensional gait analysis in the Rehabilitation Therapy Center. She said that this is her second time visiting Guangdong, and the first trip was in January 2024 when she accompanied Lionel Rouwen Aingimea, Nauru's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to the province.

This is also the second trip to Guangdong for Hon. Maverick Eoe, Deputy Speaker of Nauru. "People of Guangdong have given us hospitality that surpassed our expectations. We have a lot of plans to promote cooperation between Nauru and Guangdong."

"Amounts of development have happened in Guangdong in the last 40 years. Maybe there are lessons here for us to take back home and turn Nauru into maybe a beacon of what progress and development can be in the Pacific," Adeang said.

According to Adeang, a team of Chinese experts is currently in Nauru "trying to understand the economy and our challenges." "I think if you are able to come to Nauru now and then visit again one year later, you will see the difference and that will thank the government and the people of China," he noted.