Your Excellency Dr. Alhaji Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, President of the Republic of The Gambia, Vice President Lu, Distinguished Members of The Gambian Delegation, Your Excellencies Envoys to Taiwan, Esteemed Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good morning to you all!
It is a great pleasure and indeed a privilege to welcome His Excellency President Yahya Jammeh of the Republic of The Gambia, Taiwan's West African ally, and his distinguished entourage, who have traveled thousands of miles to be here at my invitation. On behalf of the 23 million people and government of Taiwan, I would like to extend my most heartfelt welcome and appreciation to Your Excellency and the delegation from The Gambia.
This year marks the 12th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and The Gambia. During this time, and under the sagacious and resolute leadership of my best friend and dearest brother, President Jammeh, The Gambia has made great strides in various development and infrastructure projects. The results of these projects have been not only greatly admired by the Gambian people, but also highly commended by the international community as a whole. Also during these twelve years, the close and friendly cooperative partnership between Taiwan and The Gambia has flourished, and The Gambia has gone to great lengths to voice support for Taiwan's participation in the United Nations, the World Health Organization and other international bodies. Our people and government are most grateful to The Gambia for its assistance on this front.
Despite the fact that Taiwan and The Gambia are separated by a considerable distance, this trip marks Your Excellency's 7th visitt to Taiwan, and 5th during my presidency over the last seven years. The frequency of Your Excellency's visits shows that neither distance nor language are a barrier between good friends, and also fully demonstrates Your Excellency's true friendship to our people and staunch support for Taiwan.
As I welcome Your Excellency with this grand military ceremony, the delightful memories of my visit to The Gambia in August 2000 spring to mind. For The Gambia was the first African country I visited after assuming the presidency, and I am also proud to have been the first president of Taiwan to have set foot in your great nation. In fact, my relationship with The Gambia goes all the way back to 1997, when our countries' capitals Taipei and Banjul became sister cities. I was the mayor of Taipei then and had pushed diligently for an alliance between the two cities. This is why I have always held very special feelings for The Gambia.
I look forward to having in-depth discussions with Your Excellency on international events, regional issues and matters of common concern during the meetings and visits to come. I sincerely hope that we may further enhance our already close and friendly cooperative relations, and find new opportunities to strengthen our constructive partnership.
In closing, on behalf of the people and government of Taiwan, I would like to wish Your Excellency and the First Lady health and happiness, the distinguished delegation an enjoyable and fruitful visit to Taiwan, and may our two countries be blessed with great prosperity and an everlasting friendship! Thank you.