President Tsai meets President of Salvadoran Legislative Assembly Guillermo Antonio Gallegos Navarrete
On the morning of March 20, President Tsai Ing-wen met with President of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador Guillermo Antonio Gallegos Navarrete and Mrs. Gallegos. In addition to thanking El Salvador for strongly supporting Taiwan's international participation and speaking on Taiwan's behalf at international venues, President Tsai also expressed hope that the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly under the leadership of Mr. Gallegos will continue to support Taiwan.
In remarks, President Tsai stated that when she led a delegation to El Salvador early this year she met with Mr. Gallegos during a state banquet hosted by Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren. She, on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, was happy to welcome Mr. Gallegos and his delegation at the Presidential Office.
President Tsai noted that all the delegation members are staunch allies of Taiwan, and many of them, including Mr. Gallegos, have previously come to Taiwan for visits or training programs. This time Mr. Gallegos has come in his capacity as president of the Legislative Assembly, which has helped to further enhance interactions and exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries.
President Tsai noted that Mr. Gallegos is a senior member of the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly and is deeply experienced in political affairs. Since taking over as president of the Legislative Assembly in November 2016, he has worked to enhance legislative efficiency and promoted greater professionalism and transparency in the Legislative Assembly, and on all these fronts has achieved outstanding progress.
President Tsai stated that Taiwan and El Salvador both have a history of pursuing freedom and democratic reforms. Noting that Mr. Gallegos and the other visiting legislators were scheduled to meet with Legislative Yuan President Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), the president expressed hope that the meeting would lead to increased sharing of experience between the two countries on the subject of parliamentary reform so that both sides can progress and grow together.
President Tsai pointed out that Central America offers some of the best potential prospects in the world for Taiwanese industries seeking to expand their global presence, and El Salvador and Taiwan have close diplomatic ties. Moreover, she said, her visit to El Salvador early this year demonstrated the depth of the bilateral friendship and the benefits of cooperation.
President Tsai mentioned that she invited leading members of Taiwan's business and industrial community to accompany her delegation when she visited El Salvador early this year, and in doing so her hope was that they could identify opportunities for increased cooperation. An investment and procurement delegation is now being formed that will visit Central America at the end of this month (March). El Salvador will be the first stop on its itinerary, and the delegation will attend an investment forum held by El Salvador.
President Tsai stated that her administration will continue to act in line with the principle of mutual assistance for mutual benefits and work together with the business community to engage in a broad range of cooperation with El Salvador and together develop projects that will benefit both countries. She also expressed hope that Taiwan and El Salvador can jointly create a good investment environment that will encourage companies to take advantage of opportunities afforded by free trade agreements to form strategic tie-ups and share in the benefits of win-win situations.
President Tsai especially thanked El Salvador for vigorously supporting Taiwan's international participation and speaking on Taiwan's behalf at international venues. She also expressed hope that, under the leadership of Mr. Gallegos, the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly will continue to lend Taiwan its maximum support.
And finally, President Tsai stated that although Taiwan and El Salvador are separated by the vast Pacific Ocean, the relationship is nevertheless not limited by geographical distance; on the contrary, bilateral ties keep getting closer. Hopefully, she said, the two countries will continue to support each other, share experience, and by working together achieve even better development.