President Ma Ying-jeou met at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of September 23 with a delegation led by President of the National Congress of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández and Mrs. Hernández. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to the visitors on their trip to Taiwan.
President Ma commented that the ROC and Honduras have maintained diplomatic relations for nearly 70 years and the two nations share a deep friendship. While each nation has experienced challenges, the president said he is pleased to see development gain momentum in Honduras. He specially noted that trade volume between the two countries has grown considerably since the two signed a free trade agreement in July 2008, and said he hopes for even closer trade and economic relations in the future.
President Ma mentioned that he visited Honduras in 2001 when he was Taipei City mayor. Meanwhile, he made another trip to Honduras in January of this year to attend the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. President Ma said he was deeply impressed by the state of development in Honduras.
In response to Mr. Hernández's desire to further understand Taiwan's experience in the development of green energy, President Ma said that green energy constitutes an important emerging industry for the ROC. Thanks to its strengths in the high-tech and information industries, the ROC has become a global leader in the solar energy and LED sectors, and would be very pleased to engage in cooperation with Honduras in this regard.
The delegation led by Mr. Hernández was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon 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.