President Ma Ying-jeou met with St. Vincent and the Grenadines Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Louis Hilton Straker and Mrs. Straker on the morning of August 30 at the Presidential Office. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to Deputy Prime Minister Straker on his sixth visit to Taiwan.
The president remarked that St. Vincent and the Grenadines celebrated its 30th anniversary of independence on October 27 last year. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves had invited President Ma to personally attend the ceremonies to mark the occasion, but official business here made it impossible for him to make the trip. However, he dispatched Examination Yuan President John Chung Kuan to represent him at the events. After his return to Taiwan, Mr. Kuan said that he was very impressed with the hospitality of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the state of the nation's development.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines specially expressed its concern after Typhoon Morakot triggered landslides and flooding here in early August last year, devastating parts of southern and eastern Taiwan. President Ma said that he will always remember the gesture. In addition, he said that St. Vincent and the Grenadines in various venues has advocated meaningful participation for Taiwan in international organizations and activities. President Ma furthermore thanked St. Vincent and the Grenadines for its support in this respect.
The president stated that over the two years since his inauguration, he has been actively seeking to improve relations with mainland China and that progress has been seen in economic ties, agriculture, and technology. Taiwan and mainland China on June 29 this year signed the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement to reduce tension in the Taiwan Strait and promote peace and prosperity, he said. The president stressed that this marks a brand new situation for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Nonetheless, the wide range of interaction and close relations between the ROC and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will continue based on pledges made previously, he said. He specifically mentioned that a mutual investment promotion and protection agreement signed between the two countries in December of last year is expected to further develop bilateral economic and trade ties.
President Ma applauded the contributions made by Deputy Prime Minister Straker over the past nine years in office to promote ties between the two nations. He expressed his hopes that after returning home, Deputy Prime Minister Straker will explain to his nation's government and people the state of the ROC's development as well as the importance that the ROC places on bilateral relations.
Deputy Prime Minister Straker and Mrs. Straker were 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 Advisor Tung Kuo-yu.