President Ma Ying-jeou departed at 11:35 p.m. on January 23 (Taipei time) to attend the inauguration of Honduran President-elect Juan Orlando Hernandez and visit Sao Tome and Principe as well as Burkina Faso. He discussed trip plans in remarks delivered to the delegation on the journey shortly after the plane took off.
In remarks, the president stated that after a flight of about 13.5 hours, the chartered aircraft would touch down in Germany for a brief refueling stop before continuing on to the three allies that the delegation would be visiting on this trip. On the way back to Taiwan, he said, a stopover would be scheduled in Los Angeles, after which the delegation would return to Taiwan, arriving on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
The president commented that the trip would cover a long distance. In addition to flying across Asia, the itinerary would take them over Europe, down to Africa, over to Central America, and then up to North America. The total flight time would be nearly 60 hours, and the countries to be visited are home to vastly different peoples and cultures, he said.
President Ma stated that on this trip he would have the opportunity not only to see old friends, but also to build new friendships. He noted that his visit to Sao Tome and Principe would enable him to have visited all of the ROC's diplomatic partners since taking office in 2008. The president said that on a previous trip to Africa he was unfortunately unable to meet with Sao Tome and Principe President Manuel Pinto da Costa. In November of last year Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Gabriel Arcanjo Ferreira da Costa visited Taiwan and specially handed to him an invitation from President Pinto da Costa to visit his nation. Subsequently, he remarked, arrangements began to be made for a visit. President Ma remarked that the two countries have maintained formal diplomatic relations for over 16 years, and that he hopes to take advantage of this visit to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
The president also explained that February 2 of this year would mark the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the ROC and Burkina Faso. Over the past two decades, he said, the two sides have engaged in cooperation on many fronts, and ongoing cooperation projects in agriculture, health and medicine, vocational training, and solar energy have all yielded considerable successes. President Ma noted that Burkina Faso has made great strides thanks to the efforts of President Blaise Compaore and the people there. He stated that the two countries are planning to hold the 10th meeting of the Taiwan-Burkina Faso Mixed Commission of Cooperation in June 2014, adding that he hopes the already strong bilateral alliance would continue to move forward.
As for the visit to Honduras, President Ma stated, the ROC and Honduras have maintained diplomatic relations for 72 years. He noted that he visited that country in 2010 to attend the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, and now, four years later, he would make another visit there, so he feels a strong connection to Honduras. The two countries, he commented, have maintained close cooperative relations over the past four years, with projects in the fields of education, medicine and health, agriculture, food safety, environmental protection, and social welfare. President Ma said he was pleased that he would have the opportunity to see first-hand the achievements of bilateral cooperation.
As for Taiwan's "viable diplomacy" policy, the president stated, this trip would be his ninth time overseas since taking office, and after visiting Sao Tome and Principe, he would have visited all of the ROC's 22 diplomatic allies. He emphasized that the government's "viable diplomacy" policy, which promotes dignity and pragmatism, is designed to return the ROC's foreign affairs agenda to a state of normalcy, and to establish lasting relationships with diplomatic partners based on mutual benefit and shared prosperity.