President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of October 9 with a delegation led by Solomon Islands Governor General Frank Kabui and Mrs. Kabui, during which he updated them on the wide range of interaction between the two countries and also expressed hope for the continued strengthening of friendship and a lasting alliance.
In remarks, the president stated that he visited the Solomon Islands in 2006 when he was Taipei City mayor. In March of 2010 in his capacity as president he led an ROC delegation to the Solomon Islands where he received the Star of the Solomon Islands medal from Governor General Kabui, who also hosted a large-scale state banquet to welcome the delegation. President Ma said that the warmth of the government and people of the Solomon Islands made a deep impression on him. This marked Governor General Kabui's third visit to the ROC since assuming his post in 2009, which highlights the close interaction between the two sides, President Ma said.
Discussing the friendship between the ROC and the Solomon Islands, the president stated that the two sides established official diplomatic relations on March 24, 1983 and have maintained a close and friendly alliance that now spans 32 years. He pointed out that while the Solomon Islands experienced ethnic unrest between 1998 and 2003, because our alliance with the Solomon Islands is important to us, our ambassador never left his post, resolutely helping them overcome their difficulties. In August of 2009, Typhoon Morakot brought devastating damage to parts of southern and eastern Taiwan. At the time, Stanley Tapeva, a tribal chief from the Solomon Islands, went to great pains to donate the equivalent of some NT$4,000 to the ROC agricultural mission stationed in that country, as a gesture to help in the relief effort. These situations all highlight the deep bonds between the two countries, he said.
Commenting on cooperation in agricultural technology, the president stated that the ROC has established a technical mission in the Solomon Islands to assist in growing rice and help them achieve food security. The mission has also introduced vegetable growing and small-scale pig raising projects, which alleviates the need for the Solomon Islands to import pork. As for medicine and health care, the ROC operates a medical mission in the Solomon Islands along with a Taiwan Health Center, helping to improve the health of women and children as well as the quality of public health in general, helping to ensure the public's health and wellbeing, he said.
President Ma then mentioned that the ROC has helped develop human resources by providing the Solomon Islands with scholarships under several different government scholarship programs. At present, 74 students from the Solomon Islands are studying in Taiwan, while each year the ROC government also provides a certain number of scholarships to enable students from that nation to earn degrees in Taiwan. Solomon Islands Minister for Education and Human Resources Development David Derek Sikua and Mrs. Sikua came to the ROC earlier this year to visit their child, who is studying here, which points to close bilateral cooperation in education, the president said. The School of Medicine for International Students promoted by the government cultivates outstanding talent from allied nations so that they can become physicians, and contribute what they have learned here to their respective nations upon their return home. Presently, a total of 13 students from the Solomon Islands have come to Taiwan to study in the program. President Ma hopes that the two countries will, through wide-ranging cooperation, continue to enhance the bilateral alliance and pursue better lives for the peoples of both countries.
The president also thanked the Solomon Islands for strongly supporting the ROC's right to participate in international organizations. For instance, at the annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in 2011 a dispute emerged over the name that the ROC should use in attending the event. The Solomon Islands coordinated with other allies in strongly supporting the interests of the ROC, and was able to win the support of a majority of the member states. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Damukana Sogavare at this year's General Debate of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly also spoke on behalf of the ROC and urged UN-affiliated organizations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to accept the ROC as an entirely equal participant, thus enabling the ROC to continue to fulfill its international responsibilities in terms of aviation safety and climate change.
The delegation also included Solomon Islands Governor General's Office Charge d'Affaires a.i. Gladys Kamia Luahiti and Secretary to the Governor General Nigel Maezama.