In the early evening on June 25, President Ma Ying-jeou met with a delegation led by Solomon Islands Governor General Frank Ofagioro Kabui. In addition to welcoming the guests to Taiwan, the president called for a lasting alliance between the two countries.
In remarks, the president stated that since taking office in 2009, Governor General Kabui has helped the Solomon Islands post rapid growth through his outstanding leadership. In addition, Governor General Kabui is influential in the Pacific region, the president said. President Ma noted that when he led a delegation on a state visit to the Solomon Islands in March 2010, the vitality, hospitality, and down-to-earth nature of the people there made a deep impression on him. The president also thanked Governor General Kabui for bestowing on him the Star of the Solomon Islands during his visit and personally holding a large state banquet for him. President Ma said that the delegation from Taiwan received a warm reception during that visit, for which the president expressed his gratitude.
President Ma stated that the ROC and the Solomon Islands have maintained a close cooperative relationship since the two established formal diplomatic relations in 1983. For instance, he said, in the area of agriculture, the ROC has helped the Solomon Islands grow rice, and excellent results have been achieved. As for medical cooperation, the ROC helped the Solomon Islands with third-phase construction of the Central Hospital, and regularly dispatches mobile medical missions to that nation to run free clinics. The ROC, the president pointed out, has also donated medical equipment and medicine to the Solomon Islands, and the two countries have cooperated in solar power, he stated, with the ROC having assisted in the installation of a solar power generation demonstration system at the prime minister's office building. The ROC has also donated 20,000 solar-powered lamps to the people of the Solomon Islands, and has installed a solar power generation system at the parliament building, he said. In terms of educational cooperation, the ROC has held a number of workshops to train civil servants from the Solomon Islands, and also provides scholarships to students there to come to Taiwan or go elsewhere abroad to study, he stated. President Ma noted that of the students from the Solomon Islands who are in Taiwan, in 2011 one earned a Ph.D. and two earned master's degrees. This shows the closeness of ties on the education front, he said.
President Ma mentioned that the ROC embraces the principles of "seeking proper goals, acting lawfully, and exercising effective administration" in the conduct of foreign aid policy, and this approach is gradually improving its relationships overseas, he said. The Solomon Islands and the ROC have worked closely together, and achieved considerable success, he commented. In addition, based on the judicial plan being promoted by the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), the ROC embassy in the Solomon Islands, that nation's Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, and RAMSI are jointly cooperating on the renovation of the High Court Library, he stated. This, the president said, will afford legal professionals and students in the Solomon Islands access to ample and up-to-date judicial resources, which is extremely important.
In addition, the president addressed disease prevention cooperation between the two countries. President Ma stated that dengue fever recently has been spreading in the Solomon Islands and that the ROC is working with health agencies there to address this problem. The ROC has donated a batch of medical material that is scheduled to arrive in that nation by the end of this August, he said. This will help to prevent the further outbreak of dengue fever there, he stated. In addition, Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital in mid-June dispatched a group of medical personnel to the Solomon Islands to carry out a pilot survey of the outbreak there, the president said, further expressing confidence that this will help the country get the outbreak under control.
President Ma mentioned that the equipment in the maternity and pre-maternity wards at the Central Hospital is over 20 years old and in dire need of repairs and upgrading. The ROC government, he said, has decided to finance the renovation expenses, thereby helping the hospital to continue to enhance its service quality and substantively improve the wellbeing of the people of the Solomon Islands. Furthermore, the president noted, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, making this trip to Taiwan by Governor General Kabui especially meaningful. This attests to the steady and strong alliance between the two nations, he commented.
Governor General Kabui was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Solomon Islands Ambassador to the ROC Laurie Chan 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), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定).