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Meeting on the morning of May 23 with a delegation led by President Roberto Acevedo Quevedo of the Paraguayan Congress and Senate, President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the Paraguayan government for its longstanding support for Taiwan's international participation, and expressed hope for further enhancement of bilateral exchanges and cooperation.
In remarks, President Tsai noted that when she made her first-ever visit to Paraguay in June last year, she had the honor of being invited to deliver an address before the Paraguayan Congress. She received a warm welcome on that occasion from President Acevedo and all the assembled senators, and President Tsai said she was very happy to be able to receive everyone at the Presidential Office.
President Tsai pointed out that the members of the visiting delegation are all highly reputed leaders of the various Paraguayan political parties. President Acevedo, in particular, is a deeply experienced politician who hails from the city of Pedro Juan Caballero, which is home to one of the largest communities of Taiwanese expatriates in Paraguay. When President Acevedo was still a grassroots official, he became familiar with many Taiwanese expatriates and has close ties to the expatriate community there.
President Tsai further pointed to cooperation projects between Taiwan and Paraguay. She mentioned her speech at the Paraguayan Congress last year, in which she announced that Taiwan would gradually raise import quotas for Paraguayan beef, and would also increase the number of Paraguayan recipients under our Taiwan Scholarship Program each year. As of this year, moreover, Taiwan's import quota for Paraguayan beef has been raised to over 10,000 metric tons, about a three-fold increase, while the Taiwan Scholarship quota for Paraguay recipients has been doubled from 14 to 28. The president expressed hope that Taiwan and Paraguay can engage in even closer cooperation and exchanges.
President Tsai also stated that the close friendship between Taiwan and Paraguay will reach the 60-year mark on July 12, and the governments of the two countries are jointly holding a series of activities to commemorate this important milestone. The president also thanked Mr. Acevedo for promoting an anniversary celebration at the Paraguayan Congress for the establishment of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Paraguay to commemorate this precious historic moment.
President Tsai also thanked the Paraguayan government for its longstanding support for Taiwan's international participation, and expressed hope that President Acevedo and the other visitors in the delegation can keep exercising their influence in the Paraguayan Senate to support its government for continued speaking up on Taiwan's behalf in the international community.
And finally, President Tsai also urged her visitors to take advantage of their trip to better understand life in Taiwan and discover opportunities for mutually beneficial economic and trade ties between the two countries, so that the two sides can engage in more cooperation and have a deeper friendship.
Also included in the delegation were Senators Arnoldo Wiens, Adolfo Marcelino Ferreiro Sanabria, and Luis Alberto Wagner.
