President Ma Ying-jeou met separately with Republic of The Gambia National Assembly Speaker Elizabeth F.Y. Renner and Republic of Palau Minister of State Victor M. Yano at the Taipei Guest House on the evening of October 10. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome and thanks to each for leading a delegation to Taiwan to take part in the nation's Double Tenth National Day festivities.
In his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Renner, the president lauded her for her contribution to The Gambia in the field of education. President Ma noted that Speaker Renner has served as the head of many leading schools over the years, and she has been a staunch supporter of the ROC while serving in various government positions and as National Assembly speaker. She is a longstanding loyal friend to the ROC, he said.
President Ma remarked that relations between the ROC and The Gambia have been friendly and close since the two established diplomatic relations in 1995. The two countries maintain interaction in the areas of vocational training and agricultural technology, he said, adding that he hopes related cooperation projects will continue and even be expanded based on mutual consensus.
President Ma also thanked The Gambia for speaking repeatedly in support of efforts by the ROC to participate in the World Health Assembly in May last year. He also pointed out that when southern and eastern Taiwan suffered devastating flooding and landslides in early August last year, The Gambia donated US$750,000 in aid, which we will never forget. The president also expressed his hope that The Gambia will continue to advocate the ROC's entry into the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, so that this goal can be achieved at an early date.
After the meeting with National Assembly Speaker Renner, the president met with Palau Minister of State Yano. During the meeting, the president noted that Palau is currently engaging in a green revolution in the areas of farming, fishing, and aquaculture, and that Taiwan can share related experience. He said that a trip he made to Palau in March of this year, in which he saw close interaction between the two countries, left a deep impression on him. For instance, a youth baseball team from Taiwan was visiting Palau and an International Youth Ambassador Exchange Program instituted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been quite a success. The president said that he recently attended an event where he met with the youth in the program and was very impressed with their experiences while in Palau. The president said he hopes that similar activities will continue to be held, so that people-to-people relations can become even closer. President Ma also commented on the beauty of Palau and said he hopes that more tourists from Taiwan will visit that nation and boost Palau's tourism industry.
ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang and National Security Council Advisor Tung Kuo-yu were also in attendance at the meetings with the delegations led by Speaker Renner and Minister of State Yano.