President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 23 with Dominican Republic First Lady Candida Montilla de Medina. During the meeting, President Ma, on behalf of the people and government of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to the first lady on her visit to Taiwan and stressed that the ROC will continue to cooperate with the Dominican Republic in helping with the post-disaster reconstruction of Haiti, a diplomatic ally of the ROC and the Dominican Republic's neighbor.
In remarks, the president stated that the ROC and the Dominican Republic maintain a close relationship. Taipei City and the Dominican Republic capital of Santo Domingo have a sister city agreement, he pointed out. President Ma commented that when he visited the Dominican Republic in August 2008 to attend the inauguration ceremonies for President Leonel Fernandez Reyna, Santo Domingo Mayor Roberto Salcedo held a special welcoming ceremony for him and the delegation he led from Taiwan.
The president noted that a devastating earthquake shook Haiti on January 12, 2010, and when he made a trip to the Republic of Honduras to attend the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, he took advantage of the opportunity to make a special trip to the Dominican Republic to meet with President Fernandez, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, and others to discuss rescue and relief work in Haiti. President Ma said that he was deeply impressed by the dedication, proactive approach, and leadership ability demonstrated by President Fernandez in providing assistance to his neighbor. At the same time, President Ma also expressed his appreciation to the over 1,000 overseas compatriots and entrepreneurs residing in the Dominican Republic for their assistance in the relief effort.
President Ma furthermore stated that the ROC's reconstruction assistance to Haiti has continued for over two years. The Red Cross Society of the ROC has completed the construction of 200 permanent dwellings, and local residents have already moved in. In the future, the ROC will continue to promote public health and vocational training programs in Haiti, and will work together with the Dominican Republic to further help Haiti carry out its post-disaster reconstruction work, he said.
The president also mentioned that First Lady Montilla de Medina is an expert on family and gender relationships who is deeply committed to issues related to the underprivileged and children's and women's rights, he said. The president expressed confidence that as first lady, Mrs. Montilla de Medina will help to open a new era in children's welfare and women's rights in her nation. In addition, the Dominican Republic has one of the stronger economies in the Caribbean region. Indeed, Panamania President Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal promised when running for office that he would build a subway system in Panama similar to the one already running in the Dominican Republic. This demonstrates that the advanced state of infrastructure projects in the Dominican Republic has become a focus of attention among Latin American nations, he said.
Besides First Lady Montilla de Medina, the delegation included Vice Minister of the Presidency Zoraima Cuello Sanlate de Arvelo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of Protocol Pedro Gomez, Director of Presidential Office Official Visits Maria Nelly Sandoval Bello de Cuello, and Dominican Republic Ambassador to the ROC Rafaela Alburquerque. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊).