President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 12 with a delegation from St. Christopher and Nevis, led by Deputy Prime Minister Shawn Kenneth Richards, visiting the ROC to participate in Double Tenth National Day celebrations. In addition to expressing a cordial welcome to the visitors, the president also called for even deeper bilateral ties.
In remarks, the president stated that the ROC and St. Christopher and Nevis have had diplomatic relations since 1983, when the ROC became the Caribbean nation's first diplomatic partner after it gained independence from Great Britain. While they are geographically far apart, both nations are committed to mutual support, he said, having shared a firm alliance for 32 years, characterized by frequent interaction and close friendship.
President Ma stated that St. Christopher and Nevis held an election for its eighth National Assembly this past February and the winner, Team Unity, is a coalition formed by the People's Action Movement (PAM), Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), and People's Labour Party (PLP). PAM leader, Deputy Prime Minister Richards was selected as the nation's Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, with CCM deputy leader, Mark Anthony Graham Brantley, serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation. Following in the wake of a visit this past August by their nation's Prime Minister, Timothy Sylvester Harris, Mr. Richards and Mr. Brantley came to Taiwan together to celebrate the ROC's Double Tenth National Day. As distinguished guests, their presence was a big boost for bilateral ties.
The president mentioned that in August of 2013 he led an ROC delegation to St. Christopher and Nevis. During his visit he signed a joint communique with then Prime Minister Denzil L. Douglas, and the two countries also signed a bilateral extradition treaty. The warm and enthusiastic welcome from the government and people of that nation made a deep impression on him.
President Ma also expressed his deepest gratitude to the St. Christopher and Nevis government for speaking up on behalf of the ROC in many international venues in recent years, supporting Taiwan's participation in international organizations and activities. Although the ROC has participated in the World Health Assembly for seven consecutive years as an observer, it has yet to obtain observer status in the World Health Organization. Consequently, the president hopes that St. Christopher and Nevis will continue to provide assistance in this regard.
Commenting on bilateral cooperative projects, the president stated that St. Christopher and Nevis, like Taiwan, imports most of its energy. The ROC shared its development experience by signing the Renewable Energy Policy Consultant-dispatching Project with St. Christopher and Nevis in 2013. Over the course of this project, St. Christopher and Nevis has purchased from the ROC 440 solar-powered streetlamps, 300 sets of solar-power generation equipment for household use, and 300,000 energy saving LED bulbs. The ROC also provided its ally with US$1.61 million to assist in the construction of a solar farm at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in the nation's capital, the first solar farm in the Caribbean area. The two countries also made a joint investment of US$1.55 million to construct a second solar farm, which was completed this past July.
In terms of agriculture interactions, the president remarked that the Vegetable, Fruit and Upland Crop Quality and Safety Improvement Project jointly promoted by the ROC and St. Christopher and Nevis began last year, and will assist farmers in that nation to use natural compost as a substitute for chemical fertilizers, thus enhancing the quality of crops and food in St. Christopher and Nevis.
In the ICT development and human resources training areas, the president commented that the ROC and St. Christopher and Nevis in 2013 signed the ICT Technical Cooperation Project, under which US$1.4 million will be spent through 2017 to assist in improving the ICT environment and training ICT-related talent there. Over the years, the ROC has also held a variety of human resource training workshops, and St. Christopher and Nevis has recommended many outstanding individuals from the public and private sectors to come to Taiwan for training in many fields including agriculture, medicine, business development, green energy, and tourism. Between 15 and 20 people from St. Christopher and Nevis participate annually in these workshops, and to date over 250 officials and specialized personnel in other fields have completed training here and returned to the Caribbean nation. A Taiwan ICDF Alumni Association has also been created to maintain contact between these individuals and the ROC embassy there.
The president stated that the ROC established the School of Medicine for International Students, using an English-language curriculum, to help allies cultivate medical talent. But there is currently only one student from St. Christopher and Nevis studying there, so the president expressed hope that more of its young people will apply to the program, which will enhance bilateral interaction and cooperation.