President Chen Shui-bian met with President Ludwig Derangadage Scotty of the Republic of Nauru at the Office of the President on March 7, extending his warmest welcome and deepest gratitude for Nauru's 30-year-long support to Taiwan.
President Chen first thanked President Scotty for voicing for Taiwan at the United Nations General Assembly and the World Health Assembly in 2005. To reciprocate President Chen's welcome and appreciation, President Scotty also extended his thankfulness to President Chen, referring to Taiwan's assistance in transporting Kiribatian and Tuvaluvian laborers staying in Nauru back to their countries and thus resolving the social problems between the three countries -- Nauru, Kiribati, and Tuvalu, all of which are Taiwan's allies in the south Pacific. President Scotty also expressed his deepest appreciation for Taiwan to help Nauru retrieve its freedoms of the air.
Taiwan and the Republic of Nauru had signed an agricultural agreement in February, according to which Taiwan will assist Nauru to attain self-sufficiency in vegetarian farming and fish farming. "We will station farming and technical groups in Nauru, and I am certain that they will not let your people down," the president promised. "I thank Taiwan and hope our mutual cooperation in farming, fishery and gardening will be further strengthened in the future," President Scotty said.
To highlight what has characterized both Taiwan and Nauru as ocean countries, President Chen formally invited President Scotty to a state banquet to be hosted in Kaohsiung, a well-known port city in southern Taiwan.
President Scotty's visit was his third time to Taiwan yet the first time meeting with President Chen. "I am very impressed by your perseverance and efforts in promoting political reforms. I wish you and your constitutional re-engineering work every success," he told President Chen.