President Chen Shui-bian on the morning of April 24 extended his congratulations to Republic of Paraguay President-elect Fernando Lugo in a conversation via telephone. President Chen said he hopes that the traditionally friendly and cooperative relationship between Taiwan and Paraguay will become even closer and more stable in the days ahead.
President Chen first extended congratulations to President-elect Lugo on behalf of the government and 23 million people of Taiwan. President-elect Lugo won Paraguay's presidential election on April 20, garnering 41% of the votes. This marks the first change of power among political parties in Paraguay in nearly 61 years. The election also displays the maturity of Paraguay's democracy, President Chen said. President-elect Lugo has pledged to work to improve his nation's economy and the lives of the people of Paraguay. President Chen expressed his admiration for the goals set forth by President-elect Lugo and offered his good wishes. He also said he hopes the process in which power is transferred to the new president will proceed smoothly and that the president-elect will be successful in his administrative agenda.
President Chen said that Taiwan and Paraguay have maintained diplomatic relations for 51 years. The diplomatic alliance between the two countries over the past half century has paved the way for many cooperative programs to be successfully carried out, providing benefits to the people of the two countries. The president said that looking ahead the ROC (Taiwan) government is willing to continue to strengthen exchanges with the new Paraguay government. He said he hopes the two nations will carry out talks on creating an even stronger cooperative framework. President Chen said that he has visited Paraguay a total of three times during his tenure as Taipei City mayor and his two terms as president. He said he has seen with his own eyes the progress made in infrastructure projects in Paraguay, which he said he is extremely pleased to have witnessed. While Taiwan and Paraguay are geographically far apart, the two nations share the common values and objectives of pursuing national development, promoting democracy, fostering economic development and protecting human rights. President Chen said that this will not change even though he will leave office on May 20. He said he will continue to do what he can to assist and strengthen the alliance between the two countries and enhance mutual exchanges.
President-elect Lugo expressed his deep appreciation to President Chen for making the call. He thanked the Taiwan government and the people of Taiwan for their long-term concern and assistance to Paraguay. The president-elect said that while a large distance separates the two nations, the peoples of the two countries feel extremely close to each other. President-elect Lugo said he hopes in the future that the two countries will continue to strengthen relations. He also personally expressed gratitude to President Chen for the contributions he has made to strengthening relations between the two countries, as well as forwarding the good wishes of the people of Paraguay to their counterparts on Taiwan.
President Chen responded by saying that there is no need to express thanks among good friends. He said that when good friends face difficulties, each will stand by the side of the other and embrace the other. He said that the government and people of Taiwan have done the right thing in terms of providing assistance to Paraguay. President Chen also extended an invitation to President-elect Lugo to visit Taiwan at an appropriate time in order to see for himself the political and economic state of Taiwan, as well as to witness the development achievements of Taiwan. Lastly, President Chen once again extended his congratulations to President-elect Lugo and the people of Paraguay for successfully carrying out the election. He also expressed his hopes that the alliance between the two nations will continue well into the future.