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Vice President Lai Ching-te Attends Inauguration of President Santiago Peña Palacios of the Republic of Paraguay

Purpose and achievements
中文

Purpose and achievements

Vice President Lai attends Leads Delegation to the Repubic of Palau

Purpose

The Republic of Paraguay, our diplomatic ally, held presidential elections on April 30, 2023. Santiago Peña and Pedro Alliana, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the governing National Republican Association, won the election by a wide margin, with their inauguration ceremony taking place on August 15. To deepen friendship between high-level Taiwanese and Paraguayan officials and to demonstrate the importance Taiwan places on its partnership with Paraguay and its desire to engage in bilateral cooperation with Paraguay's new government, President Tsai Ing-wen appointed Vice President Lai Ching-te as her special envoy to lead a delegation to Paraguay from August 14 to 16 to attend the presidential inauguration. President Tsai entrusted the delegation with the two core objectives of strengthening the Taiwan-Paraguay friendship and expanding bilateral cooperation. She also expressed hope that, standing together on the frontline of the defense of freedom and democracy, Taiwan and Paraguay can contribute to global peace and stability as we continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation and enhance the well-being of our peoples.

Itinerary (Local time)

 

Achievements

In addition to attending President Santiago Peña's inauguration, Vice President Lai attended a prayer ceremony, a luncheon hosted by the president and first lady, a military parade, and a celebration marking the inauguration and the 486th anniversary of the founding of Asunción, the capital city of Paraguay.

President Peña viewed the Taiwanese delegation with great importance. He requested that Vice President Lai be seated close to him and Vice President Alliana on several occasions and made Taiwan the first country he mentioned in his inaugural address, in which he emphasized that Taiwan and Paraguay are more than just allies, but are brothers.

During the inauguration ceremony, Vice President Lai interacted with a number of international leaders, including United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, King Felipe VI of Spain, President Alberto Fernández of Argentina, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, President Gabriel Boric of Chile, President Luis Lacalle Pou of Uruguay, President Luis Arce of Bolivia, Vice President Félix Ulloa of El Salvador, and Apostolic Nuncio to Argentina and Titular Archbishop of Otricoli Miroslaw Adamczyk, showing the world that Taiwan is a free and democratic nation that respects human rights, proactively participates in international affairs, strives to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, and seeks to contribute to the international community.

 

 

Vice President Lai held separate meetings with outgoing President Mario Abdo Benítez and incoming President Peña. He also attended a banquet with President of the Senate Silvio Ovelar and President of the Chamber of Deputies Raúl Latorre. Each of these officials thanked Taiwan for its many years of assistance toward Paraguay's socioeconomic development and expressed staunch support for the Taiwan-Paraguay relationship, saying they hoped to see our countries continue to bolster our cooperative partnership.

Vice President Lai also met with a beneficiary of seed funding from Taiwan's women's empowerment project and a group of recent graduates and current student representatives from Taiwan-Paraguay Polytechnic University (UPTP), giving him a firsthand understanding of the outcomes of our bilateral cooperation projects. During the meeting, Vice President Lai said he was confident that UPTP graduates would further foster Paraguay's development and prosperity while acting as bridges between Taiwan and Paraguay, deepening bilateral ties and collaboration.

 

Vice President Lai attended a welcome banquet hosted by our overseas community in Paraguay. Representatives of our overseas communities in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and the United States were also present. Vice President Lai greeted the community members and said that the government is firmly behind them. He discussed important policies that the government had implemented in recent years and its efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, democracy, and freedom. Vice President Lai also encouraged community members to visit Taiwan to witness recent economic and political developments and said he looked forward to their supporting our diplomatic endeavors and jointly defending our national interests. His remarks were well received by the community members in attendance.

 
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