President Ma Ying-jeou continued his visit to Belize on the afternoon of May 29. He made a trip to the George Price Center, a memorial to Belize's founding father, where he and Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow jointly witnessed the signing of a cooperative agreement between the two countries on information communication technology that was signed by the foreign ministers of each nation.
The two heads of state then jointly held a press conference for members of the local and foreign press. In opening remarks to the gathering, President Ma said his decision to make Belize the first stop on his journey to Central America was based on the fact that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Secondly, Belize has long been dedicated to promoting democratic politics. The commitment to democracy by the government, people and media of Belize is rare among nations that have a comparable economic scale. In particular, Prime Minister Barrow, he said, stressed the values of freedom, democracy, peace and clean government during his campaign, all of which are very similar to values we hold dear in the ROC.
President Ma commented that Belize does not have a large population, noting that the number of people in some townships in Taiwan would be larger than Belize's entire populace. In addition, Belize faced many difficulties in the course of gaining its independence. Nonetheless, it is striving for the best, which creates even more space for cooperation between the two sides. President Ma said he hopes that this visit to Belize will not only strengthen the bond of friendship created over the past 20 years, but also will pave the way for new cooperative projects. For example, he said, the Information Communication Technology Center will help strengthen that nation's education in this field. President Ma remarked that he would be extremely pleased to share with Belize the lessons learned in Taipei when the city carried out a wireless network project during his tenure as mayor.
The president furthermore stated that Prime Minister Barrow expects to lead a delegation to Taiwan in the second half of this year. At that time, the two sides will review the status of existing cooperation projects. President Ma stressed that this trip to Belize has made him extremely happy. He pointed out that he has met any number of people that share many of the ideals that both he and Taiwan embrace and who are working towards realizing these goals.
After the press conference concluded, the president made a visit to the prospective site of the ICT Center and engaged in a groundbreaking ceremony with Prime Minister Barrow, symbolizing the commitment of the ROC in assisting its friends in promoting information education.
At 5:00 p.m. (7:00 a.m., May 30, Taipei time), President Ma attended a press conference with the ROC press corps traveling with him. He exchanged opinions with the journalists on the objective of this journey, the achievements so far, as well as future developments between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan-US relations.
In the evening, President Ma and Prime Minister Barrow exchanged decorations, representing the strong alliance and friendship between the two nations. Prime Minister Barrow presented President Ma with the Order of Belize, while President Ma decorated his counterpart with the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon. Government officials from the ROC and Belize witnessed this proud moment, after which a state dinner was held.