President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of September 8 with a delegation led by Republic of El Salvador Vice President Oscar Samuel Ortiz Ascencio. In addition to extending a cordial welcome to the visitors, the president also called for continued strengthening of bilateral interaction and cooperation.
In remarks, the president stated that Vice President Ortiz previously served in his nation's Legislative Assembly for two terms and as mayor of Santa Tecla City for five terms. While serving as a deputy in the Legislative Assembly, Vice President Ortiz sought to promote agricultural development, the protection of labor rights, and educational reform. During his tenure as mayor of Santa Tecla he was successful in enhancing transparency in budget execution, and was a highly popular and trusted figure. He was re-elected four times to that position, a remarkable achievement, the president said.
President Ma also stated that on this visit Vice President Ortiz will preside over the opening of an economic counselor office under the Embassy of the Republic of El Salvador in the ROC, and will personally introduce business and trade opportunities, along with El Salvador's investment environment, to the business community here. The president remarked that since he took office in 2008 he has frequently stressed the ROC's desire to serve in the international community in the role of "creator of new technologies and business opportunities." The president is confident that the establishment of an economic counselor office will be conducive to strengthening bilateral economic and trade ties.
The president also noted that he has visited El Salvador twice—once in June 2009 and the other in July of last year. On both occasions he was warmly received and was given every courtesy by the government and people of El Salvador. The president recalled that Vice President Ortiz took time out of a busy schedule and accompanied him on a visit to the Metropolitan Cathedral and the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a national hero, demonstrating Vice President Ortiz's deep friendship towards the ROC.
The diplomatic relationship between the ROC and El Salvador dates back 82 years to 1933, and President Ma said that relations have become even stronger over time due to bilateral cooperation and frequent mutual visits by government officials. The president also expressed his gratitude to the El Salvador government for speaking up on behalf of the ROC for many years, supporting participation for Taiwan in the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the World Health Assembly. El Salvador, which holds the rotating presidency this year in the Community of Democracies (CD), also invited the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to participate in the CD's eighth Ministerial Conference this year.
President Ma then remarked that on his visit to El Salvador in July of last year, he and his counterpart, Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, presented medals to each other and signed a joint communique that indicated the willingness of both countries to strengthen cooperation in energy, trade, food processing, and tourism. In October of last year El Salvador's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugo Martinez visited the ROC and signed a letter of intent (LOI) on bilateral cooperation with his counterpart, ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂). The ROC will assist El Salvador under the LOI in the areas of education, crime prevention, economics, tourism, medicine and health, agricultural production, environmental protection, prevention of natural disasters, children's and youth development, and social integration.
President Ma then mentioned that the ROC government each year provides Taiwan Scholarships to 25 students from El Salvador to undertake advanced studies here. Students from El Salvador are also studying at the School of Medicine for International Students at I-Shou University, and the president hopes that more Salvadoran youth will come to Taiwan to study in the future, helping to create a bridge of friendship between the two nations. The president also pointed out that El Salvador has faced poor crops over the past two years due to drought. Consequently, the ROC government has provided emergency assistance of 600 tons of rice to El Salvador to express its concern, and assist in addressing the shortfall of staple foods there.
Lastly, the president extended his best wishes to the delegation for a successful visit here, and for long lasting friendship between the ROC and El Salvador.
The delegation also included El Salvador's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaime Miranda and Deputy Minister of Economy Luz Estrella Rodriguez. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by El Salvador's Ambassador to the ROC Marta Chang de Tsien to meet with President Ma.