President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of August 16 Dominican Republic time (the evening of August 16 Taipei time) attended ceremonies marking the inauguration of Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez to another term. President Ma's participation in the event enabled him to achieve the designated objective of his journey to that nation.
The inauguration ceremonies were held at 10:40 a.m. at a joint meeting hall at the Dominican Republic congressional building. President Ma entered the building wearing a formal white suit. He first made a visit to the Office of the Speaker of the Senate, where he exchanged greetings with other heads of state. He was then escorted by protocol officials to his seat in the joint meeting hall in order to attend the presidential inauguration proceedings. While waiting for the ceremonies to begin, President Ma exchanged greetings with other heads of state, government leaders and royalty in attendance. Sitting to the left of President Ma was Republic of Chile President Michelle Bachelet, while next to him on his right was President Antonio Saca from the Republic of El Salvador.
Anchoring the ceremonies was Senate President Reinaldo Pared Perez. After singing the national anthem of the Dominican Republic and after Senate President Pared delivered remarks, President Fernandez was sworn in to another term in office by Senate President Pared. President Fernandez then delivered his inauguration address and expressed his greetings to the people who had gathered outside the congressional building. President Ma, other heads of state, government leaders and royalty then made their way to a reception room in the building where they offered their congratulations to President Fernandez. President Ma also exchanged greetings with Mrs. Fernandez and her family.
In the afternoon, the Te Deum was held at Catedral Primada de America to celebrate the inauguration of President Fernandez. President Ma was seated in the first row with other heads of state. After the conclusion of this ceremony, President Ma walked over to the Palacio Consistorial. He was met by Santo Domingo Mayor Roberto Salcedo, who presented President Ma a key to the city. The ceremony began with the national anthems of the two nations being played. The master of ceremonies then introduced the various officials from both nations attending the event. In remarks made at the ceremony, Mayor Salcedo said that the door to Santo Domingo will always be open to the people of the Republic of China. After this, a key to the city was placed in the hands of President Ma. Upon accepting the key, President Ma said that in the future he will work to foster exchanges between Santo Domingo and the ROC and promote friendship and cooperation between the two.
After returning to his hotel, President Ma met with President Antonio Saca from the Republic of El Salvador. After that meeting, he was interviewed by a number of mainstream newspapers and media sources in the Dominican Republic. At 6 p.m., President Ma headed to the Presidential Building to pay a visit to President Fernandez. He once again congratulated President Fernandez on another term in office and reiterated the ROC's willingness to continue cooperation with the Dominican Republic and interest in strengthening the bilateral alliance. In the evening, President Ma hosted a banquet for overseas compatriots residing in the Dominican Republic and expressed his hopes that they will not only continue to work hard for Taiwan, but also help pave the way for improved cross-strait relations, enabling the ethnic Chinese community to serve as a model in promoting world peace and prosperity.