President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of October 10 with Republic of Nicaragua Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Santos Lopez. The president thanked Minister Santos for making a special trip to Taiwan to attend the ROC's Double Tenth National Day Celebration, and called for continued expansion of cooperative relations between the two countries.
In remarks, the president stated that this marks the fifth visit to Taiwan by Minister Santos, which indicates the importance that he places on the alliance between the two countries, as well as the deep feelings he has for Taiwan. President Ma commented that Minister Santos has an enormous amount of experience and knowledge. In addition to having an MBA, Minister Santos previously taught in the Economics Department at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua. Furthermore, Minister Santos has served in a number of important positions in government, business, and the news media, the president said. For instance, he was the mayor of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, the secretary of finance and international relations of the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), and the chief editor of the FSLN's newspaper The Dawn (El Amanecer). Rounding out his background, Minister Santos has run hotels and other properties, and he is a trusted confidant of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra, he commented.
President Ma thanked Nicaragua for speaking on behalf of the ROC at many international venues and supporting meaningful participation for Taiwan in United Nations organizations. He also mentioned that the two nations are engaged in a number of cooperation projects, including many thatemphasizes President Ortega, such as initiatives to eradicate hunger in Nicaragua, the construction of children's development centers, a micro-lending initiative, a priority medical supply and national health services network project, a priority medical supply and national health services network project, a plan to strengthen regional productivity in order to promote small- and medium-sized agricultural ventures, an education and manpower training project, and the Dennis Martinez National Stadium Project. President Ma stated that all of these projects have yielded considerable results and improved lives in Nicaragua.
As for technology cooperation, President Ma explained, both countries are jointly running a project entitled "Application of Geographic Information Systems to Improve Environmental Sustainability in Nicaragua." Via this project, the ROC has helped Nicaragua use satellite imagery provided by the ROC to establish natural disaster and conservation area monitoring systems, thereby effectively reducing the damage to Nicaragua caused by natural disasters. In the area of trade and economic ties, the president remarked, bilateral trade has grown considerably since the two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2008. Last year, he said, bilateral trade was valued at US$98.2 million, nearly 12% higher than the previous year. The ROC is Nicaragua's largest market in Asia and tenth largest export market overall, the president noted.
Lastly, President Ma expressed hope that Minister Santos will take advantage of his visit to meet with related government agencies here and discuss how to further expand cooperation. The president asked Minister Santos to forward a cordial invitation on his behalf to President Ortega to make a visit to the ROC at his earliest convenience.
Minister Santos was escorted to the Presidential Office by Nicaraguan Ambassador to the ROC William Manuel Tapia Aleman to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊), and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀).