President Ma Ying-jeou met with Burkina Faso Prime Minister Tertius Zongo and Mrs. Zongo on the morning of May 6 at the Presidential Office. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed a cordial welcome to Prime Minister and Mrs. Zongo on their visit to Taiwan.
The president commented that Mr. Zongo has earned the trust of Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore since he became prime minister in 2007 because of his skillful handling of the economy and other matters, adding that Prime Minister Zongo's performance has been widely applauded both at home and abroad. The president said he hopes that this visit to Taiwan by Prime Minister Zongo will help to further strengthen bilateral relations and foster wellbeing among the people of the two countries.
President Ma expressed his appreciation for Prime Minister Zongo finding time amid busy preparations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Burkina Faso's independence, to make a visit to the ROC. It shows that relations between the two countries continue to show stable growth, he said. Cooperation projects between the two countries have been carried out very successfully since the two established diplomatic relations in 1994, and cover fields such as medicine, economic affairs, and agriculture, he said. The president specially pointed out that President Compaore has become one of Africa's important regional leaders and that he has spoken on behalf of the ROC at a number of international venues, advocating Taiwan's participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). President Ma said that he will always remember these gestures.
The president recalled that President Compaore and Mme. Compaore came to Taiwan two years ago to attend his inauguration and that he was deeply touched by this. President Ma said he is aware that the policies promoted by President Compaore have significantly boosted Burkina Faso's standing. In addition, his counterpart's efforts to promote regional cooperation have helped to resolve a number of international disputes, he said. This has enabled Burkina Faso to play an increasingly important role in West Africa. The president said he deeply admires the achievements of President Compaore.
President Ma furthermore stated that a couple of days ago he made a trip to Taichung to visit the Central Training Center of the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training. This center is currently promoting a lighting project for Africa. The solar energy technology developed by Taiwan will be harnessed to help children in Africa study for four-and-a-half hours at night from lights powered by solar energy. Meanwhile, the batteries for the lights will be recharged during the daytime from solar power generation equipment at schools. President Ma said he believes this is a highly meaningful initiative. He said that he specially brought a lamp to the meeting, symbolizing mutual cooperation and friendship. The president added that he hopes even more such lamps will illuminate allied nations in Africa in the future.
Prime Minister Zongo expressed his appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of busy schedule to meet with him. He also passed along President Compaore's best regards.
Prime Minister and Mrs. Zongo were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang to meet President Ma. Also in attendance was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen.