President Chen Shui-bian on August 9 met with Republic of Palau House of Delegates Speaker Antonio Bells.
The president said he was honored to be able to attend the inauguration ceremonies of Palau President Tommy Remengesau, Jr. in late January 2005 and to be invited to speak before the House of Delegates. President Chen said he still remembers the warm reception he received by parliamentarians in Palau. In September 2006, he attended the highly successful First Taiwan-Pacific Allies Summit, which he said demonstrated the high efficiency of President Remengesau's government and the support of Palau's parliament toward the summit. President Chen said that in addition to Taiwan, six heads of state of diplomatic allies in the region personally attended the summit. The Palau Declaration was passed at the summit and measures are presently being taken to realize the spirit and content of the declaration. The president said he was pleased about the recent Conference of Taiwan-Central America Allies Environmental Ministers and the creation of the Preparatory Office of the Austronesian Forum, saying these both conform to the spirit of the Palau Declaration.
President Chen said Taiwan and Palau maintain close and friendly relations and he hopes that bilateral ties and cooperation can be strengthened further based on the existing foundation. He also hopes more Taiwan companies will invest in Palau. At present, a number of Taiwan businessmen have invested in the operation of large-scale international tourist hotels on Palau. The president noted that while Taiwan still ranks first in the number of tourists to Palau, the number has fallen slightly over the past year. Last year, Palau welcomed a total of 82,000 tourists, with 28,000 coming from Taiwan. More efforts should be made to attract a greater number of Taiwan tourists to Palau, the president said.
The president thanked Palau for supporting Taiwan in its efforts to join international organizations, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization. He said this year Taiwan hopes to enter the UN under the name "Taiwan" and that this is the desire of the Taiwan people. Taiwan is anxious to fulfill its international responsibilities and hopes that the Palau government and parliament will continue to provide support and assistance to Taiwan.
In addition to Speaker Bells, the delegation of visiting parliamentarians included Delegate Lucio Ngiraiwet, Delegate Thomas Patris and Delegate Flavian Carlos.