President Ma Ying-jeou and Mrs. Ma held discussions on the morning of June 15 with Republic of the Marshall Islands President Jurelang Zedkaia and Mrs. Zedkaia. On behalf of the government and people of the ROC, President Ma extended a cordial welcome to President and Mrs. Zedkaia and expressed his desire for enhanced cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.
Noting that the ROC and the Marshall Islands established diplomatic relations in 1998 and have maintained a strong friendship since, President Ma added that in late March last year the Marshall Islands was his first stop on a visit to the ROC's Pacific island allies. He said that viewing the Marshall Islands from his plane was like looking at a string of pearls in the Pacific, an amazing work of God. President Ma remarked that the two countries established formal ties during his tenure as Taipei City mayor and shortly after that announcement Taipei and Majuro inked a sister city relationship. This further points to the close and friendly ties between the two sides, he said.
President Ma said that during a speech delivered at Columbia University in New York, President Zedkaia mentioned that his nation is facing a threat posed by higher sea levels caused by climate change. Taiwan is also closely monitoring this situation, President Ma noted. Consequently, the two countries should work together to resolve the situation.
President Ma also said he is pleased by achievements chalked up by bilateral cooperation projects in the areas of health care, energy, and vocational training. Last year, for instance, ophthalmologists from Taiwan treated 50 patients from the Marshall Islands who were suffering from cataracts, and in March of this year, otolaryngologists and dermatologists from Taiwan held free clinics in the Marshall Islands, treating 542 patients. In the area of energy cooperation, the ROC has provided over 6,000 LED solar-powered lamps to the Marshall Islands, enabling students and housewives to study and do housework in the evening hours. This has provided a solution to areas that suffer a shortage of power, he said. Meanwhile, students from the Marshall Islands who have participated in vocational training courses for auto mechanics, electricians, and plumbers, have taken jobs and been praised by their American employers. President Ma also stated that since last year Taiwan has sent two groups of students to the Marshall Islands under a youth ambassador program, helping to strengthen people-to-people ties.
President Ma also mentioned that the two countries share a commitment to democracy. As a result, he expressed congratulations to the Marshall Islands in advance for parliamentary elections to be held at the end of this year and a presidential election slated for next year.
President and Mrs. Zedkaia led a delegation including Marshall Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs John M. Silk, Permanent Representative of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations Ambassador Philip Muller, and Foreign Ministry Special Advisor Neijon Edwards. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Marshall Islands Ambassador to the ROC Phillip K. Kabua to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添).