President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 6 with a delegation from Burkina Faso's National Transition Council (Conseil national de la Transition, CNT). In addition to welcoming the visitors, the president also expressed hope for the continued strengthening of cooperation in a wide range of areas.
In remarks, the president stated that he has twice visited Burkina Faso, also referred to as a "nation of integrity," since he took office in 2008, and over the course of three days there received three horses as gifts. The president said the warmth and friendliness of the people of Burkina Faso made a deep impression on him.
The president then commented that Burkina Faso experienced political upheaval in October of last year that attracted the attention of the international community. After the formation of an interim government there, the president said, he specially appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂) to lead a delegation to Burkina Faso in February this year to express the ROC's support for Burkina Faso. During his visit, Foreign Minister Lin inspected various bilateral cooperation projects that are in progress, and extended an invitation to CNT President Cheriff SY to visit the ROC. This paved the way for the discussions today, President Ma remarked, adding that he hopes this visit will enable President SY to gain a better understanding of the ROC's development, as well as the progress of bilateral cooperation projects.
President Ma pointed out that President SY is a veteran journalist and previously served as the president of the Society of Editors of the Private Press (Societe des Editeurs de la Presse Prive, SEP). He is highly respected in Burkina Faso and was selected president of the CNT. President Ma is confident that Burkina Faso will successfully complete its period of transition under the wise leadership of President SY, and that nation will return to being a constitutional democracy.
President Ma stated that the ROC and Burkina Faso re-established diplomatic relations 21 years ago and that joint efforts have enabled interaction and cooperation in the areas of politics, economics, society, and technology to continue to expand. Presently, bilateral cooperation focuses mainly on agriculture, vocational training, health and medical care, as well as renewable energy. These projects have yielded impressive achievements and have been recognized not only by the ruling and opposition parties in Burkina Faso, but also the foreign diplomatic presence in that nation, the president said.
President Ma furthermore explained that the 10th meeting of the Mixed Commission of Cooperation between the ROC and Burkina Faso was held in June of last year in Taipei, during which the two sides signed agreements to carry out 20 cooperation projects covering four core areas: vocational training, agriculture, medical care, and solar energy. These projects are being designed to meet the specific needs of Burkina Faso, and developments in this regard are extremely meaningful, the president said.
The president recalled that during his visit to Burkina Faso in 2012 he made stops at an elementary school and the homes of schoolchildren where he saw the solar powered LED lamps donated to that nation under the "Light for Africa" project. These lamps have enabled children to study at night, and the president said he was deeply touched when he saw how children did their homework on the ground next to the donated lamps. School teachers also told him that the students' performance in their monthly exams had improved since receiving the lamps, which the president was delighted to hear. Since its initiation in 2011, over 145,000 solar-powered lamps have been donated to 916 elementary schools in the Burkina Faso countryside under the project, which the president hopes will be further expanded in the future. President Ma pledged to President SY that the ROC will continue to work to further deepen bilateral cooperation projects to enhance the wellbeing of Burkina Faso's people.
The president stated that the ROC government and the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund each year provide scholarships to students from Burkina Faso to engage in undergraduate or graduate coursework in Taiwan. Since he took office, 68 students from Burkina Faso have come to study here, he said. In addition, the ROC since 2005 has promoted Chinese language teaching in Burkina Faso, and this has been included as a formal bilateral cooperation project since 2009. It is hoped that this cooperation project will help to create a bridge for interaction between youth of the two countries.
On the economic and trade front, the president acknowledged that the volume of bilateral trade is limited, but it is growing steadily. He pointed out that last year the value of imports from Burkina Faso grew 47% from the previous year, which was quite impressive.
The president also expressed his gratitude to Burkina Faso for speaking on behalf of the ROC in international venues over the years and supporting meaningful participation for the ROC in United Nations-affiliated organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other international organizations including the World Health Organization.
Lastly, the president stated that Burkina Faso will hold presidential and National Assembly elections in October and that he looks forward to seeing the successful conclusion of these elections under the leadership of the transitional government and President SY, thus beginning a new era in the democratic process in Burkina Faso. President Ma also hopes that bilateral projects will move forward, which will enable the ROC to continue to be an important partner in Burkina Faso's national development.