Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

While meeting with Republic of Paraguay Vice President Hugo Velázquez Moreno and Mrs. Velázquez on the afternoon of October 10, President Tsai Ing-wen stated that the fruits of economic development must be supported and safeguarded by democracy, freedom, and human rights. These are the shared values of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Paraguay, she said, and they constitute a precious advantage for both of our countries. The president also looks forward to seeing our two countries achieve even greater accomplishments together.

A translation of President Tsai's remarks follows:

It is a pleasure to welcome Vice President Velázquez and Mrs. Velázquez to the Republic of China (Taiwan) to join us for our National Day celebrations.

Since taking office, I have led two delegations to Paraguay, and on both occasions Vice President Velázquez received us with great enthusiasm. During his time as President of the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies, he strongly supported the Republic of China (Taiwan), and now, his first visit to Taiwan as Vice President demonstrates the depth of our bilateral friendship.

Vice President Velázquez attaches great importance to exchanges and cooperation between our two countries. In addition to the two times he visited Taiwan in his capacity as President of the Chamber of Deputies, in recent years the vice president and his wife have also attended the opening receptions held by the Taiwan delegation at Paraguay's "International Fair for Livestock, Industry, Agriculture, Trade, and Services," and interacted with exhibitors from Taiwan. We look forward to taking advantage of his visit this time to forge even closer cooperation in the future.

Over the past few years, our two countries have carried out successful cooperative projects in medical care, agriculture, and education. Also, Taiwan and Paraguay have expanded the list of products for which we grant each other preferential tariff treatment, and this has enhanced our mutually beneficial partnership. Rice vermicelli and knitwear from Taiwan are very popular in his country, and Paraguayan beef and sugar cane are big sellers in Taiwan.

This past May, our embassy in Paraguay and the Taiwan Sugar Corporation held a large-scale orchid exhibition for the first time ever. The theme of the exhibition was "fraternal alliance between both countries." Similarly, we hope through our orchid industry cooperation, we can develop a deeper bilateral friendship.

The Taiwan Agriculture Investment Company plans to establish a subsidiary in Paraguay to help encourage more firms from Taiwan and Paraguay to jointly invest in orchid production and develop business opportunities.

We feel quite confident that the fruits of economic development must be supported and safeguarded by democracy, freedom, and human rights. These are the shared values of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Paraguay, and they constitute a precious advantage for both of our countries.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Paraguay for speaking up on Taiwan's behalf at this year's World Health Assembly. I look forward to seeing our two countries achieving even greater accomplishments together.

I want to take this opportunity to ask Vice President Velázquez to convey greetings and gratitude from Taiwan to President Mario Abdo Benítez. And I once again welcome Vice President Velázquez and Mrs. Velázquez to Taiwan.