Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

Belize Prime Minister John Briceño, accompanied by his wife, First Lady Rossana Briceño, is scheduled to lead a delegation to visit Taiwan from March 8 to March 12 at the invitation of Taiwan's government. Speaking on March 7, Presidential Office Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) noted that this trip, coming 16 years after his previous visit, will be Prime Minister Briceño's first visit to Taiwan as head of government, and said that President Tsai Ing-wen warmly welcomes Prime Minister Briceño and his delegation to Taiwan on behalf of our people and government.

Spokesperson Chang stated that President Tsai will formally welcome the delegation with military honors at the Presidential Office on the morning of March 9, and will confer the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon upon Prime Minister Briceño in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to strengthening the friendship between our nations. After the conferral ceremony, President Tsai will host a state banquet at the Presidential Office for Prime Minister Briceño and his delegation.

Spokesperson Chang noted that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Belize have supported each other throughout our 33 years of diplomatic ties, and have together promoted cooperative projects in medicine, trade, infrastructure, and agricultural development, which have strengthened our friendship and yielded impressive results. In particular, our two countries have fought shoulder-to-shoulder against the global pandemic by sharing information and disease prevention supplies, protecting the health of our nations' citizens and contributing to their welfare.

Spokesperson Chang further noted that this past January, Vice President Lai Ching-te led a delegation to attend the inauguration of Honduran President Xiomara Castro, where he met with Prime Minister Briceño and invited him to visit Taiwan. On March 11, Vice President Lai will also accompany the Belizean delegation to Tainan, where he will witness the conferral of an honorary doctorate upon Prime Minister Briceño by Kun Shan University.

Spokesperson Chang announced that the delegation will include Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children Rossana Briceño, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology Francis Fonseca, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise Jose Mai, Cabinet Secretary and Chief of Staff Stuart Leslie, and Trade and Investment Ambassador Jaime Briceño. We hope that this visit by Prime Minister Briceño will serve to further strengthen the friendship between our countries and enhance bilateral cooperation.