Chinese Government provides RMB 88 million grant for ICT Access in Public Educational Centers Project (Linked to Record ID#55498)

Project narrative

On August 20, 2018, the Government of El Salvador announced that it was severing diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (‘Taiwan’) and establishing diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China (‘China’). Then, on November 1, 2018, during an an official visit with the President of El Salvador, Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to provide RMB 1 billion of grant funding over a period of three years for multiple projects (see Umbrella Record ID#55498). On the same day, the two parties signed 13 memoranda of understanding (MOU) to allocate the grant funds to various projects in the health, education, technology, water supply, prevention, care and disaster mitigation sectors. One project that was supported with these funds was the ICT Access in Public Educational Centers Project. The purpose of this project was to distribute 15,000 laptops (worth RMB 88 million) to 558 public schools and educational centers across the country. 316,000 students were expected to benefit from the laptops. The equipment handover ceremony was held at Francisco Morazán primary school in San Salvador, El Salvador. Representatives from various sectors, including El Salvador President Sanchez Cerén, Chinese Ambassador Ou Jianhong, El Salvador's Minister of Education Carlos Canjura, and El Salvador's Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Castaneda attended the ceremony. On April 2, 2019 and April 10, 2019, additional delivery ceremonies were held in the provinces of Santa Ana and Chalatenango, respectively. El Salvador’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology was responsible for implementing the project, which included transporting the laptops to their final destinations.