The new Ambassador from the Solomon Islands to the ROC, Victor Samuel Ngele, presented his credentials to President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of March 18.
Ambassador Ngele offered his credentials in a ceremony that was held at 10 a.m. at the Presidential Office Building. Ambassador Ngele was escorted by Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Protocol José María Liu. Also witnessing the event was Presidential Secretary-General Liouyi Liao and Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang.
After the ambassador submitted his credentials, President Ma, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed a warm welcome to Ambassador Ngele on assuming his new position here. The president remarked that the Solomon Islands, with a population of 580,000 people, was an important South Pacific battleground in World War II. The diplomatic alliance between the two countries has remained strong ever since the two sides established formal ties in 1983. In addition, bilateral cooperation in the fields of medicine, agriculture, and community development have yielded concrete results, the president said.
President Ma furthermore noted that he previously visited the Solomon Islands in 1997 in the capacity of an academic. He said that the warmth and hospitality of the people of the Solomon Islands made a deep impression on him. In mentioning a trip that he will make to South Pacific allies at the end of this month, the president said he looks forward to visiting the Solomon Islands again and hopes that bilateral cooperation projects will continue to grow. He said he hopes to see even closer cooperation, thereby further solidifying the alliance.
Ambassador Ngele said he is deeply honored to take up his position in the ROC, adding that the alliance between the two nations has steadily grown and the bond between the two has become increasingly stable since the establishment of diplomatic relations. He commented that this is the result of both countries embracing the common values of democracy and rule of law. Ambassador Ngele said that Taiwan has been his nation's closest friend and the government and people of his country are looking forward to the president's visit. He also expressed his hope that both countries will continue to maintain friendly ties in the future.