President Ma Ying-jeou at noon on September 15 attended a reception celebrating the 187th anniversary of the independence of Central America. The president was invited to the event by the ambassadors to the ROC of Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed his congratulations to the people of Central America and offered his best wishes for lasting friendship and alliances between the ROC and its friends in the region.
President Ma mentioned that in August he led a delegation from the ROC to attend the inauguration of Republic of Paraguay President Fernando Lugo and the inauguration of Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez. Given his tight itinerary, he said that he was unable to visit other nations in Central America. During his stops in the region, however, he took advantage of the opportunity to meet with Republic of Honduras President Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Republic of El Salvador President Antonio Saca Gonzalez and Republic of Guatemala Vice President Jose Rafael Espada. President Ma said that the discussions held were highly beneficial in further promoting the alliances with these nations. The president added that his most recent trip helped to broaden his horizons by enabling him to visit South America and the Caribbean. He said that should there be opportunities in the future, he would be extremely willing to carry out state visits to countries in Central America if he is invited.
President Ma said that the ROC and its allies in Central America share bonds that date back over 50 years. Over the past half century, the ROC and its allies have maintained close cooperative relationships in the areas of economics, agriculture, education and national defense. This interaction has allowed the ROC opportunities to understand the state of development of Latin America and individual countries in the region. At the same time, many Latin American nations have provided the most assistance possible to the ROC in international forums, such as the United Nations and other specialized institutions or organizations, the president said. The ROC, President Ma said, cherishes these close and long lasting friendships with countries in the region.
President Ma also said that at present the ROC and Mainland China are engaging in reconciliation. He said the ROC hopes this truce can be extended from the Taiwan Strait into the international community. The president stressed to the ambassadors that the friendship between the ROC and its allies will continue to develop based on the existing foundation. He said he hopes that the end to the two sides of the Taiwan Strait engaging in a contentious diplomatic struggle will enable the ROC to focus more efforts and resources on its allies. This will foster even closer friendship between the ROC and its allies, and allow the relationships with these friends to be further solidified and developed, he said.