President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of February 10 with a delegation led by Saint Lucia Minister of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation Alva Baptiste. Apart from describing the current state of interaction and cooperation between the ROC and Saint Lucia, the president also called for continued enhancing of bilateral exchanges and a lasting alliance.
In remarks, President Ma commented that relations between the ROC and Saint Lucia have always been good. The president led a delegation to the Caribbean nation in August 2013, during which he received a warm reception from Saint Lucia Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy and Prime Minister Kenny Anthony. During that visit, the two nations signed a joint communique expressing willingness to strengthen interaction and cooperation. Prime Minister Anthony also made a reciprocal visit to the ROC in November of that year, during which he exchanged opinions with related government agencies here on issues to convince Taiwanese companies to invest in his nation, and to strengthen bilateral trade. The president stated that the frequent interaction at the highest levels of government between the two nations highlights the stability of bilateral alliance.
In addressing bilateral cooperation projects between the ROC and Saint Lucia, the president mentioned that cooperation has covered a variety of areas since the two countries restored diplomatic relations in 2007 including infrastructure, agriculture, medicine and healthcare, information and communications, education, and human resources. These programs have yielded impressive achievements, he said. Recently, the ROC has provided assistance to its diplomatic partner via the establishment of the Multi-Channel Data Centre and the Sustainable Energy Program, providing lighting for recreational facilities, fishing infrastructure, the purchase of criminal identification equipment, a cement block-making facility at the Bordelais Correctional Facility, assistance in the prevention of black sigatoka disease in bananas, and implementation of the St. Jude Hospital Reconstruction Project. These types of cooperation projects are testament to our continuous and close cooperation.
In the area of education cooperation, President Ma noted that roughly 80 students from Saint Lucia are currently studying in Taiwan on full scholarships and that their academic performance is outstanding. In addition, nearly 30 students from that nation have already completed their studies here and returned home to contribute what they have learned. By coming to Taiwan to further their studies, these young people have not only been successful in boosting their own abilities, but at the same time have had an opportunity to interact with their peers here, which helps to forge mutual understanding among their generation. The president remarked that this will be an important force in promoting bilateral friendship in the future.
President Ma also mentioned that the main objective of the visiting delegation is to discuss the establishment of an embassy in the ROC. The president expressed his confidence that the founding of a Saint Lucia embassy here would further solidify friendship and cooperation, and promote interaction between people in the two countries while strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations. This would create a win-win situation benefitting both sides, he said.
President Ma also stressed that Saint Lucia has consistently provided assistance to the ROC in its efforts to participate in international organizations. Since taking office in 2011, Foreign Minister Baptiste has spoken on behalf of the ROC in September 2013 and 2014 at the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, urging other nations to support full participation for the ROC in the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization. He also sent a letter to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat, supporting broad participation for the ROC. The president said he is grateful for these gestures.
Also in the delegation were Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation Permanent Secretary Hubert Emmanuel; Permanent Representative of Saint Lucia to the United Nations Menissa Rambally; and Ambassador Aziz Debbagh, Special Advisor on Economic Development and Foreign Relations to the Permanent Mission of Saint Lucia to the United Nations.