President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of August 22 with a delegation of visiting Canadian parliamentarians, and on behalf of the government and people of the ROC extended a warm welcome to the visitors on their trip to Taiwan.
The president noted that the ROC and Canada maintain a close relationship. ROC nationals make some 150,000 trips to Canada annually, and over 2,000 study in Canada, making Taiwan the fourth largest source of foreign students in that nation. This is just one element of the close interaction between the two nations in the educational and cultural spheres, he said. In addition, the president commented that Canada last year granted visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals and the two sides have also signed a working holiday agreement. All this demonstrates the close relations between the two countries.
President Ma noted that bilateral trade last year amounted to US$3.4 billion, which was a rise of 34% from the previous year. Taiwan has become Canada's 12th largest trading partner, he pointed out, saying that amid the economic recovery he is confident that the bilateral trade volume will continue to grow.
The president stated that when he was elected to office three years ago, Canada's foreign affairs minister immediately issued a statement of congratulations to him. In addition, in 2009 upon learning that the ROC had been invited to attend the World Health Assembly, Canada quickly issued a statement welcoming the move. This demonstrates that Canada takes a very positive view of the democratic development and participation in international activities by the ROC, he said.
The president also remarked that the government here over the past three years has made every effort to improve cross-strait relations and foster peace in the Taiwan Strait. This has helped to create a new climate for Taiwan in the international community and increased the willingness of many nations that do not maintain formal diplomatic ties with the ROC to expand economic and cultural relations with us. President Ma said this proves that improvements in cross-strait relations simultaneously help to improve Taiwan's relations with the international community. Promoting a virtuous cycle of development is precisely what the government desires, he said.
House of Commons Member Costas Menegakis thanked President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the delegation, and expressed his desire to see even stronger cooperation in the fields of education and culture in the future, thereby enhancing mutual friendship.
The delegation, including Member of Parliament Menegakis and Mrs. Menegakis, and Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Executive Director Scott Robert Fraser, was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Thomas T.S. Cheng (鄭天授) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu (劉志攻).