President Ma Ying-jeou met with Republic of Honduras Ambassador to the ROC Marlene Villela de Talbott at the Presidential Office on the morning of July 5. The president expressed his appreciation to Ambassador Villela, whose tenure here just concluded, for her contributions to the alliance between the two nations.
The president noted that Ambassador Villela has served as Ambassador to the ROC for eight years and during this period at one point served as the head of the diplomatic corps here. The president remarked that Ambassador Villela has actively promoted cooperation between the diplomatic corps and the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government ministries and agencies. He added that her friendliness and enthusiasm have not only won her many friends, but also helped her gain the reputation as the loveliest chief of the diplomatic corps. After departing Taiwan, Ambassador Villela will become her nation's ambassador to Japan, and President Ma wished her the best in her new post.
President Ma commented that the ROC and Honduras maintain a wide range of interaction. Taipei City and the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa are sister cities, he noted. After the president took office, he forged a friendly relationship with former Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales and the incumbent President Porfirio Lobo Sasa. Over the past several years, he said, Honduras has consistently spoken at international venues in support of the ROC's participation in international organizations, for which he expressed his appreciation. He also expressed his hope that Honduras will continue to support the ROC in its efforts to have even more meaningful participation in international affairs.
The president stated that he attended President Porfirio Lobo's inauguration early this year and held in-depth discussions with his counterpart. He said he came to understand that President Lobo is extremely interested in providing better opportunities for access to computers among the Honduran people. President Ma said that in the past the ROC has assisted quite a few APEC member nations in establishing Digital Opportunity Centers to promote education in the use of information technology. He added that the ROC would be extremely pleased to provide assistance to Honduras in this regard.
Ambassador Villela was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.