President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 30 with Republic of El Salvador First Lady Vanda Pignato, who also serves as the Secretary of Social Inclusion under El Salvador's Office of the President. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to First Lady Pignato on her visit to Taiwan.
In remarks, the president stated that the ROC and El Salvador have maintained diplomatic relations for 71 years and the alliance between the two is quite solid. He pointed out that in June 2009 he led a delegation to attend the inauguration ceremonies of President Mauricio Funes. The president commented that the beautiful scenery of El Salvador and the warmth of its people made a deep impression on him. At the time, he said, he heard that First Lady Pignato was quite active in her position and was extremely talented, making every effort to assist President Funes in his work.
President Ma furthermore stated that President Funes has made the eradication of poverty his foremost administrative objective since taking office. First Lady Pignato, in her position as Secretary of Social Inclusion, has spearheaded an initiative—called "Ciudad Mujer"—to provide care for underprivileged young women from poor farming villages. President Ma noted that US First Lady Michelle Obama personally visited the "Ciudad Mujer" on a trip to El Salvador. In addition, First Lady Pignato has been awarded the United Nations' South-South Awards, the Americas Award 2011, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and Peru's Lima Medal. She was invited to attend a seminar at the Inter-American Dialogue, providing a briefing on the "Ciudad Mujer" program, he said. In addition, early in October she was again invited to New York to deliver an address on rights for the elderly. Her work is highly acclaimed in the international community, the president said.
Lastly, President Ma asked First Lady Pignato to pass along his best wishes to President Funes upon her return to El Salvador and to express the ROC government's sincerity in its invitation for inviting President Funes to visit Taiwan. The president wished First lady Pignato a pleasant stay in Taiwan and stated his desire for a long lasting alliance between the two countries.
First Lady Pignato was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀) and El Salvador Ambassador to the ROC Marta Chang de Tsien (錢曾愛珠) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添) and National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊).