The incoming Ambassador from the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe to the ROC, Jorge Amado, presented his credentials to President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of August 31.
The ceremony was held at 10 a.m. at the Presidential Office. Ambassador Amado was escorted by Acting Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Protocol Liu Der-li. Secretary-General to the President Chan Chuen-po and Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco H. L. Ou witnessed the ceremony.
After the completion of the formalities, President Ma extended a cordial welcome on behalf of the government and people of the ROC to Ambassador Amado on taking up his new post. The president remarked that the ROC and Sao Tome and Principe have maintained diplomatic relations for over a decade and the two nations enjoy stabile ties. Cooperation between the two countries has yielded many achievements over these years, he said, especially in the area of malaria prevention. The president said the ROC has effectively assisted Sao Tome and Principe in reducing the incidence of malaria from 47% to 3.48%. In the beginning of this year, malaria began re-emerging in three of that nation's provinces and the ROC specially dispatched a medical mission to the nation to draft a response plan to control the outbreak. President Ma said that the two sides have worked closely in this regard and these efforts have paid off.
With regards to the cooperation and development projects currently being carried out, President Ma said that significant progress has been made in the ROC's efforts to assist Sao Tome and Principe in building a power generation facility. It is hoped that a thermal power plant will come online at an early date, thereby supplying the electricity needed for Sao Tome and Principe's industrial development as well as to meet the requirements of the people. President Ma also noted that private hospitals from the ROC are helping to transform the medical system in Sao Tome and Principe with the hope that better hygiene and public health systems will take root in that nation.
President Ma commented that Sao Tome and Principe President Fradique de Menezes personally led a delegation to Taiwan to attend his inauguration last year and also made contact to express his sympathies shortly after receiving news of the recent disaster caused by Typhoon Morakot. President Ma expressed his appreciation for these gestures. The president also said last year when the ROC raised a motion to be allowed to participate in United Nations-affiliated agencies, Sao Tome and Principe's representative spoke on behalf of the ROC. This year, the ROC attended the World Health Assembly as an observer, and this could not have been achieved without the assistance of Sao Tome and Principe, he said. The president said he hopes Ambassador Amado will pass along the ROC's deepest appreciation to President Menezes and Prime Minister Joaquim Rafael Branco.
Lastly, President Ma reiterated his welcome to Ambassador Amado on taking his new post here at a time when the ROC is doing its utmost to carry out reconstruction work. He said he hopes that upon assuming his post, Ambassador Amado will work to strengthen contact and cooperation with various government agencies here, enabling relations between the two countries to continue to forge ahead based on the existing foundation of friendship.