On the morning of June 18, President Ma Ying-jeou welcomed Republic of Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina and Mrs. Perez and an accompanying delegation to Taiwan with full military honors. President Ma called for continued enhancement of bilateral cooperative relations and a lasting alliance between the two countries.
The welcoming ceremony was held at 10:00 a.m. at Liberty Square in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in downtown Taipei. President Perez was welcomed with a 21-gun salute, after which the national anthems of the two nations were played and the leaders of the countries inspected a tri-service color guard. President Ma and President Perez then each delivered remarks, and Taipei City Mayor Lung-Bin Hau (郝龍斌) presented President Perez with a key to the city. Among those attending the ceremony were Vice President Wu Den-yih, senior ROC government officials, and representatives of the diplomatic corps stationed in Taiwan.
In remarks, President Ma, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to President and Mrs. Perez upon their arrival in Taiwan at the invitation of the ROC government for a state visit. This marked President Perez's first visit to Taiwan in his capacity as president.
President Ma stated that this was the first visit to Taiwan in 19 years by President Perez, who had last traveled to Taiwan in 1994, but it was Mrs. Perez's fourth visit. He noted that President Perez has strived to promote his nation's development since his inauguration as president in January of last year. That President Perez has been willing to take time out of his busy schedule to lead a delegation here signifies the importance that he places on the bilateral friendship, President Ma commented.
President Ma mentioned that the ROC and Guatemala have maintained a long friendship. Both nations embrace the universal principles of democracy, freedom, human rights, and rule of law, he remarked. In addition, both governments have been quite sincere in promoting relations, enabling ties between the two sides to continue to move forward since diplomatic relations were established 80 years ago. The president said he is quite pleased to see this.
President Ma mentioned that he has visited Guatemala twice – once in his capacity as Taipei City mayor and once as president. He said he has a strong understanding of the efforts made by President Perez to promote national development, and of the successes that have been achieved. President Ma stated that on this visit both leaders will have an opportunity to exchange opinions on relations between the ROC and Guatemala, as well as various events throughout the world. He also expressed hope that this visit will afford President Perez a better understanding of Taiwan's development and the state of bilateral ties, which have been mutually beneficial.
Later in the morning, President Ma held discussions at the Presidential Office with President Perez and Mrs. Perez. President Ma noted that President Perez was a founding member of Guatemala's Patriotic Party and at one time served as the party's secretary general. He is a highly regarded political leader in his nation, President Ma said, and has quite a comprehensive background in the military. Besides graduating from Guatemala's Polytechnic School (Escuela Politecnica), he is also a graduate of the Inter-American Defense College in Washington DC. President Perez previously served as the presidential chief of staff, the army inspector general, and a member of the commission on defense and security of the Guatemalan presidential office, President Ma mentioned.
President Ma furthermore stated that President Perez's most important contribution in his military career was to represent the military in negotiations with guerrilla forces, which ultimately led to a peace accord between the two sides that marked the end of the civil war in that nation. He was decorated with the highest honors from the army and the nation for his efforts in this regard, President Ma said. Furthermore, he noted, even though President Perez has served in his current post for only a year and a half, he has shown a strong work ethic as head of state and a love for the people. President Perez has worked tirelessly to promote policies that are beneficial to the Guatemalan public and has consequently been extremely popular, President Ma said. He therefore expressed admiraiton for the contributions made by his counterpart on both the military and political fronts.
In discussing relations between the two countries, President Ma stated that clear achievements have been seen in various fields of cooperation in recent years. This cooperation includes promoting a reduction in the digital divide, assisting Guatemala in establishing a liver transplant center, constructing public housing using bamboo, widening the CA-9 Highway, the transfer of agricultural technology, interaction in the areas of commerce, trade, and investment, and cultural ties, he said. President Ma concluded his remarks by expressing his desire for a continued expansion of ties, and wished the delegation a pleasant and successful journey.
The delegation led by President Perez was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Guatemalan Ambassador to the ROC Arturo Romeo Duarte Ortiz to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Secretary-General Jason C. Yuan (袁健生), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂) and Mrs. Lin, and ROC Ambassador to Guatemala Adolfo Sun (孫大成).