President Ma Ying-jeou met with the Republic of the Marshall Islands' Parliament Speaker Alvin Jacklick & Mrs. Jacklick and Vice Speaker Alik Alik & Mrs. Alik at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of December 8. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome to the visitors on their trip to Taiwan.
President Ma first congratulated Speaker Jacklick on winning his position at the end of October by a large margin. He added that Speaker Jacklick, as the chairman of the United Democratic Party, led the ruling coalition in surviving a no-confidence vote, thereby making an enormous contribution to ensuring stability in the Marshall Islands.
President Ma remarked that the ROC and the Marshall Islands established formal diplomatic relations on November 20, 1998. Over the past 11 years, the two countries have maintained a close relationship and have engaged in many cooperative infrastructure projects, such as solar energy and improving transportation on outlying islands. The ROC, he said, also encourages the private sector to invest in the construction of docks in the Marshall Islands. This has yielded significant benefits in improving the wellbeing of the people of the Marshall Islands, the president said.
The ROC, the president said, hopes to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Marshall Islands former President Litokwa Tomeing and current President Jurelang Zedkaia have made every effort to support the ROC's endeavors to take part in international organizations and activities. President Ma expressed his appreciation in this regard.
The president noted that the Marshall Islands is a nation comprised of atolls and islands, and it sits just one meter above sea level. Consequently, the Marshall Islands is extremely concerned about topics such as climate change, greenhouse gases, and global warming. If the trend of global warming continues, causing the melting of glaciers, sea levels will rise, posing a serious threat to many places, including the Marshall Islands and Taiwan, he said. President Ma remarked that the UNFCCC Cop15 is currently being held in Copenhagen. While the ROC is attending the event in the capacity of a non-governmental organization, we hope to be able to participate in international organizations and activities, enabling us to acquire information and share our experiences, thus working together with other nations to address the crisis of global warming, President Ma said.
President Ma said that besides engaging in interaction and cooperation on a variety of topics of mutual interest, the ROC and the Marshall Islands share the ideals of freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law. This is an important reason that the alliance between the two nations over the past 11 years has continued to strengthen, he said.