President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of April 15 with Republic of Sao Tome and Principe Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities Natalia Pedro da Costa Umbelina Neto. The president welcomed Minister Umbelina Neto to Taiwan and called for continued strengthening of bilateral ties and cooperation.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Minister Umbelina Neto has particular expertise in the field of education. After earning a doctorate degree in France, she returned to her home country to serve in a number of important positions. She has been a member of the Sao Tome and Principe Ministry of Education's UNESCO National Commission, the program director of the World Food Programme in Sao Tome and Principe, and the secretary general of the Sao Tome and Principe National Commission for UNESCO, he said. President Ma remarked that Minister Umbelina Neto is very experienced in foreign affairs and is highly regarded in her nation.
The president said that Minister Umbelina Neto visited Taiwan for the first time at the end of last year, and helped arrange a state visit by President Ma to Sao Tome and Principe in January of this year. He noted that after arriving in the African island nation, he and his delegation received a warm welcome from President Manuel Pinto da Costa, Prime Minister Gabriel Arcanjo Ferreira da Costa, and a number of ministerial-level officials. During the visit, both sides also signed a number of cooperation projects, he remarked. In addition, the president commented, the two nations are engaging in the research and development of geographical information system applications. All of this attests to the close cooperative bilateral relationship, he said.
President Ma stated that accompanying Minister Umbelina Neto on this visit are important officials from Sao Tome and Principe including Secretary General of the Government Frederico Gustavo dos Anjos, two advisors to the president, former Ambassador to the ROC and current International Cooperation Director Ladislau Frederico D'Almeida, and Central Hospital Director Jose Luis de Ceita de Encarnacao da Cruz. These officials, the president said, will engage in further talks with their ROC counterparts during this visit on the details associated with ROC assistance to establish a new hospital facility there. In addition, according to Taipei Wan Fang Hospital Superintendent Fei-Peng Lee (李飛鵬) who is involved in this project, President Ma said, this initiative is in the active planning stage and is expected to be completed in several stages. The project is quite important to both sides. The ROC will work with an eye to the needs of Sao Tome and Principe in order to improve medical care there, he added.
The president stated that Sao Tome and Principe gained its independence in July 1975 and established diplomatic relations with the ROC in May 1997. Since the formal ties were established, the ROC has helped Sao Tome and Principe improve its infrastructure, and considerable success has been seen in cooperation in the areas of health, education, agricultural technology, information technology, and the development of human resources, he mentioned.
President Ma also thanked Sao Tome and Principe for continuing to speak on behalf of the ROC in international venues and indicate its support for Taiwan's participation in international organizations and activities. He also expressed a desire to see President Pinto da Costa visit the ROC this year in order to add further depth to the bilateral cooperative relationship.