Vice President and Madame Lien Chan and other members of their delegation boarded flight 031 of Eva Airways and returned to the Republic of China today from a 10-day trip to Costa Rica and Grenada.
Vice President Lien issued the following written statement upon his arrival at the CKS International Airport:
On behalf of President Lee Teng-hui, I led a mission to the Republic of Costa Rica to attend the inauguration of His Excellency President Miguel Angel Rodriguez, and subsequently to Grenada, our ally in the eastern Caribbean. My delegation received gracious welcome and courtesies from the governments and peoples of the two countries.
While in Costa Rica and Grenada, I respectively called on government leaders of the two countries and exchanged views with them on matters of common concern. We all agreed that the ROC and the two Caribbean countries share the same ideals of pursuing freedom, democracy and social development, and that upon the existing foundation, they should continue strengthening mutual assistance and cooperation. During my visit to Costa Rica, I met with the Heads of State of five Central and South American nations--Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, and Honduras, who also attended the inauguration of His Excellency President Rodriguez. In Grenada, I also met with the Prime Ministers of St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica. We exchanged views and reached consensus on how to promote mutual relations between the ROC and their countries.
On behalf of our government, I also extended its warm regards to the Chinese people residing in Costa Rica and Grenada and to our government officials stationed there. I am very delighted to see that most of the Chinese people there have done well with their businesses and receive the respect of their respective governments and peoples, and that our foreign service officials posted there have discharged their duties fully.
The excellent coordination among the relevant government agencies, both at home and abroad, has made my visit very successful. On behalf of all members of the delegation, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to those colleagues who were engaged in the preparation for my trip and to those journalists who traveled with my delegation.