The Office of the President held a press conference on the afternoon of January 15 to announce that President Ma Ying-jeou will lead a delegation to the Republic of Honduras, a diplomatic ally of the ROC in Latin America, on January 25 to attend the inauguration ceremonies for the nation's President-elect Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The press conference was chaired by Director Kuo-boug Chang of the Department of Public Affairs, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Ching-shan Hou explained the itinerary of President Ma's upcoming trip.
Vice Minister Hou noted that Honduras completed a presidential election on November 29, and Porfirio Lobo Sosa, a candidate from the opposition National Party, won. President-elect Lobo is slated to be inaugurated on January 27, he said. Vice Minister Hou explained that President Ma was invited to attend the proceedings and that he will personally lead a delegation to congratulate President-elect Lobo with the goal of establishing a friendly relationship with the new administration there as soon as possible to show the importance that the ROC places on the alliance between the two countries.
Vice Minister Hou furthermore said that a chartered aircraft will carry President Ma and his delegation to Honduras, departing from Taiwan on January 25 and returning on January 30. In all, President Ma will spend six days and five evenings overseas. On the journey to Honduras, President Ma will transit in San Francisco, California, while his plane will stop in Los Angeles, California on the return to Taiwan. The delegation will include a total of 56 individuals, including ministers from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of Agriculture, and related agencies, along with other officials and persons responsible for arranging the trip. In addition, members of the local media have also been invited to accompany the delegation.
Vice Minister Hou stated that the primary objective for President Ma during this trip is to attend the inauguration ceremonies for President-elect Lobo. Besides these events, however, the president will also hold talks with the heads of state or envoys from other nations in order to strengthen bilateral relations and friendship. President Ma, he said, will also hold a banquet for overseas compatriots residing in Honduras and will be interviewed by international media organizations.
Vice Minister Hou stressed that upon President-elect Lobo emerging victorious in the election, President Ma immediately sent a congratulatory message, expressing that he looks forward to developing a friendly and cooperative relationship with the new government in Honduras. To date, 11 nations throughout the world have recognized the new Honduran administration and the ROC is one of these, which exhibits the stable alliance between the two countries, he said.