President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of March 10 met and exchanged decorations with St. Christopher and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.
The ceremony was held at the Presidential Office Building. President Ma bestowed the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon, while Prime Minister Douglas conferred the top honor of his nation, the Order of St. Christopher and Nevis, on President Ma. Officials including Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang, National Security Council Advisor Tung Kuo-yu, and ROC Ambassador to St. Christopher and Nevis Miguel L.J. Tsao were on hand to observe the proceedings.
After the ceremony, President Ma noted that the prime minister is a physician by training, and later went on to become an outstanding statesman. He has enormous experience in politics, and is extremely familiar with international trends. Since leading his country's Labour Party to victory in 1995, he has been re-elected three times in 2000, 2004, and 2010, and is a legendary figure in the Caribbean. The president added that Prime Minister Douglas has actively participated in regional organizations such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). He has made considerable efforts to promote regional cooperation and is a highly respected figure in the Caribbean, the president stated.
President Ma also mentioned that this marks the eighth visit to the ROC by Prime Minister Douglas. Even though this is only the first time that he and his counterpart have met since he took office in May 2008, he said that he and Prime Minister Douglas exchanged phone calls prior to his taking office. He also stressed that the two countries intend to continue their friendly relationship and expand cooperation.
President Ma noted that the ROC and St. Christopher and Nevis established diplomatic relations in 1983, making that nation the ROC's first diplomatic partner in the Caribbean. Over the course of the 28-year alliance, the ROC has had the honor of taking part in many infrastructure projects in St. Christopher and Nevis in the areas of medicine, education, agriculture, and industry, and the ROC is extremely pleased to share Taiwan's development experience. The president expressed his hope that bilateral relations will continue to move forward in order to create wellbeing for the people of the two countries.
Prime Minister Douglas thanked President Ma for bestowing a special honor upon him, and congratulated the ROC on its centenary. He stated that the ROC and St. Christopher and Nevis share the core values of human rights, rule of law, and democracy, and remarked that the ROC has long been his nation's closest cooperative partner. St. Christopher and Nevis, he said, will continue to speak on behalf of the ROC in the international arena and will support the ROC's participation in international organizations.
Prime Minister Douglas added that the two countries have longstanding cooperative relationships in agriculture, education, technology, and infrastructure, and expressed his hope that even more Taiwan enterprises will invest in his nation, particularly in the fields of information technology and renewable energy. He said that existing avenues for cooperation and investment can be used to enable Taiwan to further access the Caribbean market and economic entities that already maintain cooperative relations with his country. The prime minister expressed his certainty that this will create greater business opportunities and a win-win situation.