On the morning of December 9, President Ma Ying-jeou met with St. Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Consumer Affairs Camillo Gonsalves. The president welcomed Minister Gonsalves to Taiwan, and called for continued strengthening of bilateral ties and cooperation.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Foreign Minister Gonsalves has been a friend to the ROC for many years, and that he visited Taiwan twice when he served as his nation's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN). The president noted that this is Minister Gonsalves' third visit to the ROC, but his first as minister of foreign affairs, adding that these visits demonstrate the close and friendly bilateral relationship.
President Ma commented that he led a delegation to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in August of last year and received a warm reception from Governor-General Sir Frederick Ballantyne and Foreign Minister Gonsalves' father, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. The president said the visit was highly successful, and thanked the government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for their hospitality and efforts to promote bilateral relations.
President Ma stated that the two countries' alliance has been stable over the 33 years since they established diplomatic relations, and that bilateral cooperation projects have yielded impressive achievements in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, health care, information & communications, education, and human resources. He mentioned that during his visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines he attended ceremonies to mark the opening of the Colonaire Bridge, which was built with assistance from the ROC government. The event afforded him a chance to learn how the bridge is benefitting the public there. Other infrastructure projects built with assistance from the ROC include the National Public Library, which was completed in October 2009, 13 Learning Resource Centers finished in 2011, the E-government Center completed in May of last year, and a new terminal at Argyle International Airport built at the end of last year. President Ma said he is deeply pleased by these developments, for they show that the bilateral friendship continues to move forward.
As for cooperation in the area of education, the president remarked that the ROC began providing the Taiwan Scholarship in 2004 for students from St. Vincent and the Grenadines to study in Taiwan, and 91 young people have obtained these scholarships as well as scholarships from the TaiwanICDF to study here. These students are completing their studies here and returning home to use what they have learned, he said. Over 40 students from St. Vincent and the Grenadines are now studying in Taiwan, and President Ma noted that Foreign Minister Gonsalves intends to meet with them during his visit, which highlights how the policy of welcoming students from other nations to study here positively affects bilateral relations.
The president stated that Minister Gonsalves not only is responsible for foreign affairs and commerce & trade, but also has the big task of government computerization in his portfolio, so President Ma briefed him on the achievements of bilateral cooperation in the field of information and communication. The president commented that the ROC in recent years has been actively helping its allies to promote e-government initiatives. For example, he said, St. Vincent and the Grenadines entered into an ICT technical cooperation project with the ROC in 2010, and in 2013 the ROC assisted with establishment of the E-Government Center there, helping to create a government portal website, a file database, and data security, and also to provide training of ICT personnel. In addition, he noted, the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commissioned the National Development Council and Chunghwa Telecom to jointly establish the Electronic Document and Records Management System Project for the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government. This has enhanced management of the receipt, dispatch, and delivery of documents. President Ma also remarked that Foreign Minister Gonsalves plans to tour the National Development Council to better understand the achievements of the ROC government in promoting e-government.
The president further mentioned that the ROC government this year dispatched three conscripts doing alternative military service to St. Vincent and the Grenadines to take part in information cooperation between the two countries. The three young men have written programs to establish a single portal for the government website, which has greatly simplified administrative procedures and boosted public satisfaction with the government there, stated President Ma. The ROC ambassador has reported that the expertise and dedication of the three men has made an excellent impression, which he said is a source of great pride.
The president also thanked St. Vincent and the Grenadines for speaking on behalf of the ROC in international venues. He commented that the ROC has long sought to participate in the UN system and related international organizations. The president mentioned that since taking office in 2001, Prime Minister Gonsalves has repeatedly spoken on behalf of the ROC during the General Debate at the UN General Assembly. In addition to supporting the ROC during the UN General Debate in September of this year, Foreign Minister Gonsalves also in October sent a letter to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in support of observer status for the ROC. Also, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has done much to help the ROC take on a higher profile within the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). As a result, he said, the ROC has been able to send representatives for the past two years to participate in the meetings of the ICCAT's convention amendment working group in Tokyo and Barcelona.
Lastly, President Ma asked Foreign Minister Gonsalves to pass along his best wishes to Governor-General Ballantyne and Prime Minister Gonsalves, and called for continued growth in bilateral relations and a lasting alliance.