President Ma Ying-jeou, accompanied by Vice President Wu Den-yih, on the morning of July 24 welcomed Republic of Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez and Mrs. Hernandez to the ROC with full military honors. The president also expressed his desire for further strengthening of the ROC-Honduras alliance and cooperative relationship.
The welcoming ceremony was held at the Main Plaza of the National Theater & Concert Hall of the National Performing Arts Center in downtown Taipei. Following a 21-gun salute, the national anthems of both nations were played, after which President Ma and President Hernandez each delivered remarks.
In his remarks, President Ma first welcomed President and Mrs. Hernandez on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, and noted that this is his counterpart's first visit to the ROC in his capacity as president, making this visit highly significant. The diplomatic alliance between the ROC and Honduras has spanned 74 years, and President Ma said that he has a special place in his heart for Honduras, as he first visited that nation back in August 2000 when he was serving as Taipei City mayor. In January 2010, he, in his capacity as president, visited Honduras to attend the inauguration of former President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. Then, four years later in January of last year, he again led a delegation to that nation to attend the inauguration of President Hernandez. The president said that he witnessed the increasingly mature democracy of Honduras, as well as the determination of the Honduran government to pursue national development.
President Ma commented that apart from ongoing bilateral cooperation projects promoted by the ROC's technical mission stationed in Honduras that focus on agricultural and fishing technology, cooperation in recent years has been expanded to cover education and culture, including computer education. As the president commented, the two sides have maintained close, long-term interaction.
President Ma also expressed his deepest gratitude to the Honduran government for its longstanding resolute support for the ROC. Honduras, he said, has spoken on behalf of the ROC in many international venues, encouraging participation for the ROC in international organizations and activities such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the World Health Assembly, he remarked.
A while later, President Ma and President Hernandez held talks at the Presidential Office. In his remarks, President Ma described President Hernandez as a promising young leader who served four consecutive terms in the National Congress, during which he also did stints as the secretary general and president of that body. President Hernandez has a thorough understanding of the situation in Honduras and the needs of the Honduran people, and the diligence and caring he has shown since being elected president has won him accolades throughout Latin America, said President Ma.
The president also mentioned that his counterpart has worked aggressively since taking office on cracking down on crime in Honduras. The ROC last year donated several helicopters to Honduras to assist in the fight against drug-related crimes, with efforts in this regard already showing success, he said. Meanwhile, in October of last year the Mexican private consulting firm Consulta Mitofsky released the results of a public opinion survey directed at the performance of Latin American heads of state that placed President Hernandez in the Top 5, showing the support he is receiving from the public.
Discussing bilateral cooperation projects, President Ma stated that the alliance between the ROC and Honduras is steady and stable, and that the two sides in the past have carried out a wide range of cooperation projects in the fields of medicine and agriculture. In recent years, this cooperation has been expanded to cover education and culture. The president specifically pointing out that the ROC each year provides scholarships to about 30 outstanding Honduran students under the Taiwan Scholarship program, which assists these individuals to pursue advanced studies and earn degrees in Taiwan. Also, Taiwan's I-Shou University has launched a School of Medicine for International Students that is dedicated to training medical professionals for the ROC's diplomatic allies, with students from Honduras are enrolled in the program.
President Ma furthermore stated that the ROC in September of last year assisted Honduras to procure medical and health-related goods, responding to a request by the Honduran government to address domestic shortages. Several Central American allies, including Honduras, also had poor crops last year due to the impact of El Nino, and the ROC subsequently assisted Honduras in fighting its drought and providing food relief. These moves highlight the strong bond of friendship between the two countries and show how the ROC is fulfilling its policy goal of being a provider of humanitarian aid in the international community, he said.
Lastly, President Ma hopes that the two countries will continue to expand and deepen their cooperative relationship on the solid foundation of the existing bilateral friendship.
Also in the delegation were Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Arturo Gerardo Corrales Alvarez and Mrs. Corrales, Minister of Economic Development Alden Rivera Montes, and Minister of Infrastructure and Public Service Roberto Antonio Ordonez Wolfovich.