President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 19 with delegations from diplomatic allies El Salvador and St. Kitts and Nevis at the Presidential Office Building. The delegations were visiting Taiwan to take part in the inauguration ceremonies for the 13th-term president and vice president of the ROC. Also attending the meetings were Vice President-elect Wu Den-yih, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添) and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀).
During his discussions with El Salvador Foreign Minister Hugo Roger Martinez Bonilla, President Ma remarked that the ROC and El Salvador established diplomatic relations in 1941, meaning that the alliance has now spanned over 70 years. The relationship between the two countries has consistently been extremely stable and bilateral cooperation projects have progressed quite smoothly, the president added. These initiatives cover agriculture, economic and trade ties, environmental protection, health care and hygiene, education, and infrastructure, the president pointed out, saying that the interaction in these areas is quite close. In November of last year, Foreign Minister Yang during a visit to El Salvador signed a letter of intent regarding cooperation among foreign service institutes in the two countries, the president said. This marks the first time that the ROC has signed such a letter of intent with a diplomatic ally.
President Ma stated that El Salvador President Mauricio Funes has made the eradication of poverty his main focus of work since taking office in 2009, and that concrete achievements have been realized already. In addition, El Salvador has placed a high level of importance on cracking down on crime, and on improving regional security. President Ma pointed out that President Barack Obama of the US has consequently pledged to support efforts to enhance regional security in Central America, which points to the recognition of El Salvador's status in promoting this initiative.
President Ma stressed that the ROC is willing to engage in further cooperation with El Salvador on the various measures and projects formulated by President Funes to improve public order in his nation. The president also mentioned that three years ago he led a delegation to El Salvador to attend inauguration ceremonies for President Funes, and that the inaugural address delivered by President Funes made a deep impression on him. President Ma said that he hopes that Foreign Minister Martinez will forward to President Funes his best wishes upon his return to El Salvador. President Ma also extended an invitation to President Funes to visit Taiwan at a convenient time.
Shortly thereafter, President Ma met with St. Kitts and Nevis Acting Governor General Sir Edmund Lawrence and Mrs. Lawrence. Acting Governor General Lawrence, the president said, is a distinguished banker with an enormous amount of substantive experience in St. Kitts and Nevis and the Caribbean region, and is deeply respected by his nation's Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.
President Ma remarked that St. Kitts and Nevis is an important ally in the Eastern Caribbean. Since 1983, the two countries have maintained formal diplomatic ties and broad interaction in the fields of agriculture, education, medical care, and culture, while the focus of cooperation in recent years has turned to technology and renewable energy, he said.
The president commented that the inauguration events this time around have been kept relatively simple because a lot of the work scheduled to take place under his second administration basically was already launched after he was re-elected in January of this year. A Cabinet reshuffle, for example, has already been carried out, and many other planned policy initiatives are already underway, he said. Meanwhile, the government also hopes to take advantage of the inauguration to invite friends of the ROC from throughout the world to visit Taiwan and to jointly discuss strengthening friendship and cooperation.
President Ma noted that El Salvador and St. Kitts and Nevis have spoken on behalf of the ROC at many international venues, supporting meaningful participation for Taiwan in international organizations and activities. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed his deepest appreciation for these gestures, adding that he hopes to see the continued development of even closer and more cooperative relationship between the ROC and its friends.