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President Tsai Ing-wen, currently traveling overseas on her Journey of Freedom, Democracy, and Sustainability, met with Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on the afternoon of July 13 local time (early morning of July 14 Taipei time). She also held bilateral talks with Haitian government officials, exchanging views on a wide range of topics of mutual concern.
After the meeting, President Tsai said she was very happy to be invited by President Moïse to visit Haiti, the first stop on her first visit to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Caribbean as president and delegation head. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, President Tsai conveyed sincere greetings to Taiwan's good friends in Haiti.
The president also thanked President and Mrs. Moïse for personally accompanying the delegation on their full agenda of activities. The two presidents jointly presided over the opening ceremony of the Taiwan Product Exhibition, and toured some bilateral cooperation projects where they heard project briefings. Of special interest was a briefing on a joint project to upgrade the Haitian power grid. President Tsai also thanked the Haitian government for their assistance, and the high-level courtesies the delegation had received.
President Tsai stated that the two sides had exchanged views on matters of shared concern, and that the agenda was both quite full, and very gratifying. In addition to the Taiwan Product Exhibition they saw earlier in the day and the project to upgrade the Haitian power grid, she said, work done by the Taiwan Technical Mission in recent years has produced some outstanding rice strains that are well suited to the conditions in Haiti. This work has increased Haiti's rice production and helped them achieve food security, which is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The president pointed out that in addition to cooperation projects currently underway, she hopes Taiwan can also share its experience in many other fields including infrastructure, agriculture, education, medical care, and economic and trade matters. We seek further cooperation in all these areas, she said.
President Tsai said she was well aware of how urgently President Moïse feels the need for national development, and expressed hope that Haiti can achieve greater social and political stability so that the economy can develop. And finally, she said that Taiwan, as Haiti's steadfast and long-time diplomatic ally, will continue to cooperate with Haiti and aid in its development. After this visit, she added, hopefully Taiwan and Haiti can continue to deepen exchanges and achieve more success through cooperation.
Following President Tsai's remarks, President Moïse delivered remarks of his own in which he noted that Taiwan and Haiti are currently implementing many important cooperation projects. These include several rice seed projects, a project to finance solar-powered pumping systems, and a project to upgrade the Haitian power grid. President Moïse called for enhanced cooperation in many different fields, and concluded his remarks by expressing hope that Taiwan can find other international partners to jointly assist in Haiti's development.
In the evening, President Tsai attended a dinner banquet at Haiti's National Palace, and then proceeded to St. Christopher and Nevis, another Taiwan ally in the Caribbean and the next stop on her Journey of Freedom, Democracy, and Sustainability.
Attendees included Taiwan's National Security Council Secretary-General David T. Lee (李大維), Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), ROC Ambassador to Haiti Hu Cheng-hao (胡正浩), Haiti's Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond, and Ambassador to the ROC Rachel Coupaud.
