President Ma Ying-jeou throughout the day on November 6 met with foreign dignitaries attending the opening of the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, including Belize Governor-General Sir Colville Young and Mrs. Young, Tuvalu Governor-General Iakoba Taeia Italeli and Mrs. Italeli, The Gambia Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy, Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga, and former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mirek Topolánek. The president extended a warm welcome on behalf of the government and people of the ROC to each of the guests.
President Ma met first with Belize Governor-General Young and Mrs. Young at 9 a.m. The president remarked that Governor-General Young is a deeply learned man and one of his nation's finest educators, having served as the head of St. Michael's College and the University College of Belize. In addition, he said, Governor-General Young has published well-known collections of poems, including From One Caribbean Corner and Caribbean Corner Calling. He also has a doctorate in linguistics and has been involved in the world of cricket. The governor-general has a strong background in the humanities, the president said, and is also well-versed in music and literature.
At 11 a.m. the president met with Tuvalu Governor-General Italeli and Mrs. Italeli. Governor-General Italeli, the president noted, came to Taiwan in 1980 to attend a workshop and in April of this year was appointed by the Queen of England to his current post.
The president commented that the ROC and Tuvalu have had diplomatic relations for 31 years and maintain extremely close ties. Tuvalu is a loyal and devoted ally, and has spoken on behalf of the ROC in many international venues, including the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization, he said, noting that on September 24 of this year during the UN General Debate, Tuvalu's representative to the UN expressed his support for the peaceful development of relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and said that Tuvalu hopes the ROC is able to participate in activities of the UN and UN-affiliated organizations. President Ma, on behalf of the ROC government and people, reiterated his deepest appreciation for this gesture.
The president furthermore noted that the two countries cooperate in a variety of fields, including agriculture, fisheries, and medicine and health care. Two students from Tuvalu are currently studying at National Cheng Kung University's College of Medicine. In addition, Taiwan's Ching Fu Shipbuilding has jointly built a purse seine vessel with Tuvalu, marking a new milestone in bilateral fisheries cooperation, he said.
Shortly after, President Ma met with Vice President of The Gambia Isatou Njie-Saidy, whom he praised as an extremely able assistant to The Gambia President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh. Vice President Njie-Saidy, he said, was appointed by President Jammeh to serve as the Chairwoman of the National Disaster Prevention and Management Governing Council, and during this visit to Taiwan she has made a special visit to the Central Emergency Operations Center. This shows the importance that Vice President Njie-Saidy places on this work, he said. President Ma also again expressed his appreciation to The Gambia for the assistance it provided in the wake of last year's flooding and landslides that devastated portions of southern and eastern Taiwan in early August.
The president met with Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister Maelanga in the afternoon, and commented that significant achievements have been seen in agricultural technology cooperation, medical assistance, and the development of high technology since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1983. Both nations seek to enable their citizens to develop to the best of their potential, and more room for cooperation exists on this basis, he said.
President Ma mentioned that on a trip to the Solomon Islands in March of this year he had an opportunity to visit the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) office established by Australia. The president said that briefings at RAMSI gave him a sense that the ROC's foreign policy initiatives are strongly supported by the countries in the region.
Later in the afternoon, President Ma met with the Czech Republic's former Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. President Ma specially mentioned that while Taiwan and the Czech Republic are separated by a great distance, the two share a core commitment to freedom, democracy, peace, and human rights. Consequently, the two have been able to engage in cooperation and develop friendship in a variety of fields. The president also thanked the former prime minister for his assistance while in office in helping the ROC to take part in the World Health Assembly and engage in meaningful participation in international organizations and activities.
The dignitaries from these nations were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang to meet President Ma.