President Ma Ying-jeou met with President of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) Jacinto Suárez Espinoza at the Presidential Office on the morning of July 8 and guaranteed that the development of the alliances between the ROC and its allies in Central America will continue to move forward. At the same time, he said the ROC desires to enhance and expand bilateral relationships with its allies in the region.
The president noted that over the past seven years, the ROC has signed four free trade agreements with its five allies in Central America. Statistics indicate that exports from Central America to the ROC have grown by a factor of 16 as a result, while the ROC's exports to the region have doubled. This, he said, demonstrates how bilateral relationships have benefited from the free trade agreements.
President Ma stated that President Suárez is a political heavyweight in both Nicaragua and the larger Central American region. He previously served as the nation's deputy foreign minister and also has served as the head of the Sandinista National Liberation Front's international affairs department. President Ma said he is confident that this visit to Taiwan, the first for Mr. Suárez, will prove to be extremely beneficial in developing bilateral relations.
The president said that the ROC's Legislative Yuan in 1999 formally became a permanent observer at PARLACEN, and the two bodies maintain frequent interaction. He stated that PARLACEN is a long-time partner and ally that has supported the ROC's participation in the international community. The president said that Nicaragua on June 30 hosted a climate change conference attended by members of the Central American Integration System, and a resolution was passed at the gathering supporting the ROC's participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The president specially expressed his appreciation for this gesture of support for the ROC.
The president furthermore stated that since taking office, his administration has promoted a series of important reforms with regard to cross-strait relations and the ROC's diplomatic policies. He said the ROC has been working aggressively to improve relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Under the philosophy of "shelving controversies and pursuing a win-win solution," the two sides over the past two-plus years have signed 14 agreements. Developments of this sort are unprecedented in the past 60 years of cross-strait relations, and it is precisely because of this that the two sides no longer engage in meaningless and wasteful competition in the diplomatic arena. Instead, resources can now be used to improve relations with diplomatic allies and strengthen substantive relations with nations with which the ROC does not maintain diplomatic ties. Since adoption of this policy, the two sides have coexisted peacefully both in their direct ties and on the international stage. The president said the ROC will continue to strengthen relations with its allies and expand cross-strait cooperation where consensus exists for such a course of action. Meanwhile, the ROC does not oppose its allies engaging in unofficial economic and trade activities with mainland China.
The president also expressed his gratitude to the Central American allies for advocating the ROC's participation in the World Health Assembly last year and this year. He furthermore said he hopes that the ROC's allies will continue to support meaningful participation for the ROC in UNFCCC-related activities, which are important in the lives of the public, as well as the International Civil Aviation Organization.
In addition to PARLACEN President Jacinto Suárez Espinoza and Mrs. Suárez, the delegation included PARLACEN Vice Presidents Víctor Manuel Galdámez Prieto (Honduras), Nidia Díaz (El Salvador), and Román Sandoval González (Panama); Secretary Jorge Gallardo Flores (Guatemala); and Member of Parliament Silvia García Polanco (Dominican Republic). The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Central and South American Affairs Joseph Y. L. Kuo, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Protocol José María Liu, Dominican Republic Ambassador to the ROC Víctor Manuel Sánchez Peña, Guatemala Ambassador to the ROC Héctor Iván Espinoza Farfán, and Panama Ambassador to the ROC Mario Luis Cucalón D'Anello to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.