The Office of the President on the afternoon of June 12 announced at a press conference that President Ma Ying-jeou will lead a delegation from June 29 to July 5 to attend the inauguration of Panama's President-elect Juan Carlos Varela and Vice President-elect Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado. President Ma will also take advantage of the trip to make a stop in El Salvador. The press conference was presided over by Presidential Office Spokesperson Wei-Kuo Ma(馬瑋國), with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀) explaining the president's upcoming itinerary.
Deputy Minister Ko stated that Panama's incumbent President Ricardo Martinelli sent an invitation to President Ma inviting him to attend the upcoming celebrations and activities. In addition, the new government in El Salvador assuming office on June 1 also extended a welcome to President Ma via the ROC Embassy in El Salvador to visit that nation. President Ma has accepted the invitations, and the visit will demonstrate the importance that the ROC places on its alliances with the two nations. Consequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formulated an itinerary based on the invitations extended by the two countries, Deputy Minister Ko added.
The deputy minister stated that the main focus of this trip will be on "boosting friendship and congratulating allied nations, in an effort to recognize the longstanding alliances that the ROC has with Panama and El Salvador." The celebratory delegation will include high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries, as well as representatives from economic and trade organizations, and is scheduled to depart Taiwan on June 29 and return on July 5. The seven-day journey will first take the president to Panama and then to El Salvador, and the president will transit in the United States both on the outbound and return legs.
Deputy Minister Ko also mentioned that in addition to attending the inauguration activities for the president-elect of Panama, President Ma also intends to meet with government leaders in Panama and El Salvador to discuss bilateral and international matters of shared concern. The trip, he said, is expected to further strengthen the ROC's alliances with these two nations, helping to forge greater co-prosperity.