President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of May 20 at the Presidential Office met with a delegation from Paraguay led by Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo Mendez. The delegation is in Taiwan to take part in the inauguration ceremonies for the 13th-term president and vice president of the ROC. Also attending the meeting were Vice President Wu Den-yih, National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真), and Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添).
President Ma expressed his gratitude to President Lugo for personally leading a delegation to attend the inauguration. The president noted that President Lugo has made the long journey despite the fact that he made a state visit to Taiwan in March of last year.
President Ma commented that the Republic of Paraguay and the ROC have maintained diplomatic relations for nearly 55 years and that the South American nation has consistently been a loyal friend and ally. The two countries have an extremely close cooperative relationship, he added. President Ma said that he led a delegation from the ROC to President Lugo's inauguration on August 15, 2008, furthermore stating that the friendliness and warmth of the Paraguayan people, and the popular appeal of President Lugo, made a deep impression on him. President Ma added that he also asked then Vice President Vincent C. Siew to serve as his envoy in attending ceremonies in Paraguay last year marking the 200th anniversary of the nation's independence. In addition, President Ma stated, as soon as the results of the presidential election in January of this year were announced that confirmed he was elected to another term, he received a message of congratulations from President Lugo.
The president also mentioned that President Lugo has sought to enhance his nation's development and has instituted a crackdown on corruption and drugs since taking office, thereby boosting the wellbeing of the people of Paraguay. President Ma lauded the success of President Lugo's administrative agenda, particularly noting that Paraguay posted 15% economic growth in 2010. Even as the global economic environment took a turn for the worse in 2011, Paraguay was still able to post 3.8% economic growth, making it the envy of many nations.
President Ma stated that the ROC and Paraguay have many ongoing cooperation projects and that he hopes this visit to Taiwan by President Lugo will help to further promote the bilateral cooperative relationship. He also expressed his hope that Paraguay will continue to speak on behalf of Taiwan at international venues, helping to create more opportunities for Taiwan to have meaningful participation in international activities.
Led by President Lugo, the delegation also included Foreign Minister Jorge Lara Castro, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Enzo Cardozo, and Minister of Industry and Commerce Francisco Rivas.