President Chen Meets with Arthuras Poviliunas, President of Lithuania's National Olympic Committee
Taipei, May 27 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian told visiting Lithuanian officials Monday that he hopes to have more business exchanges, trade cooperation and especially sports exchanges between Taiwan and the Baltic country.
Chen made the remarks when he met with Arthuras Poviliunas, president of Lithuania's National Olympic Committee and its secretary-general, Vytautas Zubernis, at the Presidential Office.
Chen said that since assuming the president of the committee in 1991, Poviliunas has contributed a great deal to world sports and to the Olympics Games. Under his excellent leadership, Lithuania has achieved good results in international competitions, Chen said.
The president was also positive about the signing of sports exchanges and cooperation agreements between the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania and the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, saying it would enhance substantial relations between the two nations.
The president then recalled a meeting he had in 1998 when he was Taipei Mayor, with Rolandas Paksas, mayor of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, over the World Capital Forum, which was sponsored by Taipei. Taipei later signed sisterhood ties with Vilnius.
The president also noted that Lithuania's long-term pursuit of democracy and freedom is admirable and a good example for Taiwan, saying that the two countries are geographically far apart but both share the universal values of freedom, democracy and human rights.
The Lithuanian officials, who arrived Sunday for a three-day visit, were accompanied to the Presidential Office by National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Chairman Lin Teh-fu and Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee Chairman Huang Ta-chou.