President Chen Shui-bian at 9:20 a.m. on January 15 Guatemala time (11:20 p.m. January 15 Taipei time) completed his visit to Guatemala and headed for St. Lucia, a political ally of the ROC (Taiwan) in the East Caribbean. St. Lucia is the final stop on the president's "Journey of Mutual Friendship and Sustained Development."
Guatemala government officials and a color guard were on hand at the airport to bid President Chen and his delegation farewell. Guatemala Minister of Foreign Affairs Gert Rosenthal was at the airport to extend President Chen his best wishes and to thank him for attending the inauguration ceremonies for President Alvaro Colom Caballeros. The two shook hands and had a brief chat.
After the president's chartered plane took off and reached a stable altitude, President Chen made his way down the aisle to meet with members of the accompanying press corps and thanked them for their hard work. He also exchanged opinions with the members of the media on his just completed visit to Guatemala.
After a flight lasting three hours and forty minutes, the president's plane landed at 3:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. January 16 Taipei time) at Hewanorra International Airport, located in the southern part of St. Lucia. ROC Ambassador to St. Lucia Tom Chou and St. Lucia's chief of protocol Martha Auguste boarded the aircraft to welcome the president. The two, along with ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs James C. F. Huang and Deputy Secretary-General to the President Lin Chia-lung, accompanied the president down the stairs to the tarmac. President Chen waved to those at the airport welcoming him. St. Lucia Prime Minister Stephenson King then escorted President Chen to a rostrum at which time the welcoming ceremony formally commenced. The national anthems of the two nations were played and then reviewing officers led President Chen and Prime Minister King to review the honorary color guard. The national anthems of the two countries were played again, followed by a performance by children from St. Lucia that highlighted that nation's culture. After the ceremony, the president then went by car to the Office of the Governor-General to meet Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy. Following a short meeting, the president went to his hotel. Shortly after arriving, he met with members of the Taiwan technical mission to St. Lucia and young men in the alternative service program in the lobby. He presented them with gifts and took pictures with the group.
In the evening, President Chen attended a state dinner in his honor at the Sandals Grande Hotel. The president said he hopes that this historic state visit to St. Lucia will not only strengthen the alliance between the two countries, but will also broaden the mutually beneficial cooperative partnership between the two. He said Taiwan is delighted to share its development and economic transformation experience with St. Lucia with the objective of assisting its friend in its national development. In addition, a variety of cooperation programs in the fields of agriculture, human resource training, education, medical equipment, and eco-tourism, along with an electoral district infrastructure project are aimed at boosting wellbeing of the people of St. Lucia, he said.