President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of January 29 with a delegation from Tuvalu led by Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga and Mrs. Sopoaga. In addition to explaining the state of cooperation between the two nations, the president also expressed hope for continued strengthening of bilateral interaction and a long-lasting alliance.
In remarks, President Ma commented that Prime Minister Sopoaga was inaugurated in 2013. In November of that year, he visited the ROC together with Foreign Minister Taukelina Finikaso and Minister of Finance and Economic Development Maatia Toafa, and exchanged opinions on matters of mutual concern. The president said he is delighted to welcome Prime Minister Sopoaga back to the ROC.
As for bilateral cooperation and training projects, President Ma pointed out that the ROC and Tuvalu established diplomatic relations in 1979, making Tuvalu the ROC's first diplomatic partner in the South Pacific. In the course of the 36-year alliance, the two sides have maintained close interaction and cooperation in areas including farming and fishing, medicine and health, environmental protection and clean energy, as well as vocational training.
President Ma noted that a technical mission from the ROC implemented the Horticultural Crop Development Project in the Tuvaluan capital of Funafuti, where it established a "Happy Friendship Farm" and successfully created an agricultural production and marketing model. The technical mission also dispatched experts to other islands in Tuvalu to promote the production of fruits and vegetables, hoping to broadly assist that nation in enhancing its agricultural technology.
In the area of manpower training, the president stated that the ROC provides Tuvalu with a range of education-related cooperation and assistance including scholarships, short-term training courses, and workshops. Over 90 young people from Tuvalu have benefited from these programs since 2008. The ROC has also helped to increase jobs for seamen from Tuvalu, with Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. hiring an average of 12 Tuvaluan nationals annually since 2007 to work on its vessels. Twelve young people from Tuvalu also came to the ROC last year to participate in three months of vocational training courses in automobile, motorcycle, and appliance maintenance and repair, cooking and handicrafts. President Ma said he is confident that these individuals will contribute what they have learned here once they return home, adding that this will further strengthen bonds of friendship.
The president also mentioned that the ROC over the years has dispatched medical missions to Tuvalu to provide free clinics. The Taiwan Medical Program was inaugurated in 2012 and since then medical and health personnel from the ROC have provided services at clinics throughout the country. They have won the trust of the Tuvaluan public, President Ma said, adding that the ROC also welcomes Tuvalu to transfer patients to Taiwan to receive treatment. The ROC government in 2013 established the School of Medicine for International Students at I-Shou University in Kaohsiung, and the president hopes that even more outstanding students from Tuvalu will apply to enter the post-baccalaureate medical program.
President Ma also discussed cooperation in the field of clean energy. Starting in 2010, the ROC began providing assistance to Tuvalu in erecting related infrastructure, including the use of solar powered fixtures, street lamps, and the conversion to LED lighting. Last year, the ROC provided further assistance to Tuvalu in converting lighting fixtures throughout the Government Building to energy-saving LED bulbs and tubes. It also has erected 45 solar powered street lamps in each of Tuvalu's islands to effectively conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions. These initiatives have been well-received and have created an even more solid foundation for bilateral alliance, he said.
The president then mentioned that Tuvalu has consistently assisted the ROC in participating in international organizations and has repeatedly, in many venues, urged the international community to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and other important groups. Tuvalu's Deputy Prime Minister Vete Sakaio in 2013 at the General Debate of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly fervently called for the ROC's participation in UN agencies. Meanwhile, in May last year Minister of Health Leneuoti Maatusi spoke on behalf of the ROC at the WHA. In addition, President Ma noted that Prime Minister Sopoaga has made every effort to support the ROC's participation in international organizations, making remarks on behalf of the ROC at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau in August last year and the UN General Assembly in New York in September. He also personally penned a letter to the UNFCCC executive secretary, urging support for observer status for the ROC in that organization. President Ma said he is deeply appreciative of the strong support provided by Tuvalu in this regard.
Lastly, the president specially mentioned that Tuvalu donated US$210,000 in relief aid to the ROC after Typhoon Morakot in 2009 caused devastating flooding and landslides here. This was equivalent to 1% of that nation's GDP, and the president said that the ROC was deeply moved by that charitable gesture. He concluded by expressing hope for even greater bilateral interaction in the future and a long lasting alliance.
Among those in the delegation were Minister of Education, Youths and Sports Fauoa Maani and Mrs. Maani, Member of Parliament Satini Tulaga Manuella and Mrs. Manuella, and Tuvalu Ambassador to the ROC Minute Alapati Taupo and Mrs. Taupo.