President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of November 9 with Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Santos Lopez and expressed a warm welcome and appreciation to Mr. Santos for making the lengthy journey to Taiwan.
In remarks, President Ma extended his congratulations to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega for winning strong support from the public in last year's presidential election, earning another term in office. In addition, Foreign Minister Santos, he said, enjoys the trust of President Ortega and was asked to remain in his position. Foreign Minister Santos has visited Taiwan three times over the past five years, the president pointed out, which is the best evidence of the stable state of the alliance between the two countries.
President Ma commented that the Nicaraguan government has in many international venues strongly supported meaningful participation for the ROC in international activities and organizations. It has consistently been a strong proponent for participation by the ROC in the World Health Assembly, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, he said. In addition, it has spoken on behalf of the ROC on numerous occasions at the United Nations General Assembly, for which the president expressed his deepest appreciation.
The president stated that the ROC and the Nicaraguan governments in recent years have jointly promoted a number of bilateral cooperation projects focusing on social welfare, including initiatives to eradicate hunger, provide micro-lending, and offer assistance to needy persons. All of these projects, he said, are conducive to greater welfare for the people of Nicaragua and sustainable development. In the future, the ROC will share its successful experience with Nicaragua by having specific villages focus on specific products, thereby assisting in the development of rural communities in Nicaragua, the president said.
President Ma mentioned that bilateral trade has increased substantially since the Free Trade Agreement Between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Republic of Nicaragua took effect in 2008. In 2007, Nicaragua's exports to Taiwan stood at US$15.34 million, but this number had grown by a factor of 2.5 to reach US$53.63 million by 2011, he said. Meanwhile, total bilateral trade rose by 29% from US$68.28 million in 2010 to US$87.98 million in 2011. The president stated that in 2006 Taiwan was Nicaragua's 20th largest export market. Since 2010, however, Taiwan has been Nicaragua's 10th largest export market. This is evidence that the bilateral free trade accord has been highly effective in rapidly fostering bilateral trade, he said. The president also noted that Taiwan companies presently have 37 investment projects in Nicaragua that are valued at US$131 million. These investments provide about 7,000 jobs in Nicaragua, and the president said he hopes that these figures will rise even more in the future.
The president also recalled that he led a delegation to Nicaragua in 2009. At that time, President Ortega personally drove him on a tour into the countryside to see the results of cooperation between the ROC agricultural technical mission stationed in Nicaragua and local villagers in growing rice, adzuki beans, and other agricultural products, along with raising pigs. President Ma said that he was deeply impressed with President Ortega's deep concern for the people, and added that at that time he already was confident that President Ortega would win another term in office.
Foreign Minister Santos was accompanied by Nicaraguan Ambassador to the ROC William Manuel Tapia Aleman and Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂) to the Presidential Office 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).