President Ma Ying-jeou met with Republic of Sao Tome and Principe Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Carlos Alberto Pires Tiny and Mrs. Tiny at the Presidential Office on the morning of April 7. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome and appreciation to them on their visit to Taiwan.
The president commented that the ROC (Taiwan) and Sao Tome and Principe established formal diplomatic relations 12 years ago and the bilateral relationship is quite stable. A number of cooperative projects have been carried out over the years. In the area of public health, Taiwan has provided assistance to Sao Tome and Principe in eradicating malaria, while in agriculture, assistance has been provided to produce a variety of crops. The president said the cooperative relationship has been quite smooth and that he is confident that this visit by Minister Tiny and Mrs. Tiny will aid in further promoting the development of ties between the two countries. President Ma also told Minister Tiny that Sao Tome and Principe Ambassador to the ROC (Taiwan) Ladislau d'Almeida, who was present at the meeting today, maintains extremely close contact with the government here and is making a significant contribution to promoting mutual understanding between the two countries.
Minister Tiny thanked President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He also noted that this marks his second visit to Taiwan in the past six months. He said that the bilateral cooperation projects between the two countries are moving forward quite smoothly. The foreign minister especially expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by Taiwan in helping his nation to fight malaria. The measures taken by Taiwan and the results have even been recognized by the World Health Organization, he said. Minister Tiny also said that prior to making this trip to Taiwan, he paid a visit to the Taiwan technical mission stationed in his country. He said the agricultural cooperation between the two sides has yielded enormous successes and he is certain that the public in his nation is enjoying better crop harvests as a result.
Foreign Affairs Minister Tiny said Sao Tome and Principe is extremely grateful for the assistance provided by Taiwan in agriculture, medicine, and electric power. In order to further broaden the scale of bilateral cooperation, he said that government to government interaction should be expanded to include interaction among the corporate sectors and individuals between the two countries. Cooperation via these three conduits will help provide the momentum for sustained development of bilateral relations, he said.
President Ma responded by saying that he is extremely pleased by Minister Tiny's idea to expand the level of interaction between the two countries. The president said that when he served as Taipei Mayor he promoted a resident artists exchange program and has long encouraged student exchange programs. Exchanges of this type improve mutual understanding, he said. President Ma said that in the future the ROC government will design other projects with this in mind, hoping to further elevate strengthen relations with Sao Tome and Principe.