中美洲經貿辦事處 Central America Trade Office
The New Director of the Central America Trade Office, Ambassador Liao Shi-Jie Took Office on February 1

2012-02-16

The Central American Trade Office organized an inaugural ceremony in the CATO office (7F of the World Trade Center) to welcome the new director, Ambassador Liao Shi-jie, at 4:30 pm on February 1, 2012. Approximately 60 guests were invited to witness the ceremony that include: Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ko Shen-Yeaw; the Ambassador of El Salvador, Mme. Marta Chang de Tsien, and her husband former member of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, Mr. Qian Le-sheng; representatives from Central American countries, the interim representative from the Dominican Republic, and representatives from other friendly nations; Secretary General of the International Cooperation and Development Fund, Mr. Tao Wen-lung; the Director of the Department of Economic and Trade Affairs, Mr. Gao Shuo-tai; the Director of the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, Mr. Wu Jin-mu; the Deputy Chairperson of the Research and Planning Committee, Mr. Huang Zai-qiu; managers and staff from MOFA and ICDF; officers from the Bureau of Foreign Trade, the Department of Investment Service, and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council; the Chairman of the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association, Mr. Wang Chung-yu; various chairpersons of domestic trade and tourism associations; and industry representatives who worked along with CATO exploring Central American market. The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ko Shen-Yeaw, supervised the handover ceremony and also gave the address. The interim chargé d'affaires of the Honduran Embassy, with Honduras currently holding the rotating presidency of SICA (Central American Integration System), Sr. Alejandro Young, and the outgoing director of CATO, Mr. Xie Zhi-ping, were also present to congratulate Ambassador Liao’s new posting.

The newly appointed Director, Ambassador Liao Shi-jie, thanked all of the guests for their participation, and said that the primary goal of the future tasks would be to re-appropriate CATO’s legality status in order to facilitate its operation and its function, and to stabilize CATO’s organization system, as well as to provide employees with job training opportunities, so as to stimulate their professional potential and creativity. He also emphasized that he would rely on the tremendous cache of domestic and overseas business contacts and work assets left by Director Xie. And going forward, he would interact with the embassies of Central American countries by following the principle of “mutual respect, mutual understanding, mutual trust, compliment, and mutual benefit” in order to further strengthen future trade investment and tourism between Taiwan and the friendly nations of Central America.

Photos of the inaugural ceremony


The moveable stage for the ceremony


Flower Basket with Compliments (TACA Airlines)


Flower Basket with Compliments (Taipei Specialty Coffee Association)


CATO staff receiving guests at the registration desk


The transferring of the official seal between the directors with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ko Shen-Yeaw, looking on


Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ko Shen-Yeaw, giving a speech on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs


Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ko Shen-Yeaw, giving a speech on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs


The interim chargé d'affaires of the Honduran Embassy, with Honduras currently holding rotating presidency of sica (Central American Integration System), Sr. Alejandro Young, giving a speech


The outgoing director, Mr. Xie Zhi-ping, giving a speech


The new director, Ambassador Liao Shi-jie, giving a speech


Active participation of the guests


Active participation of the guests


Vice Minister, Ko Shen-Yeaw, and representatives of Central American countries, as well as Ambassador Liao toasting all the guests


Vice Minister, Ko Shen-Yeaw, and representatives of Central American countries, as well as Ambassador Liao toasting all the guests


Vice Minister, Ko Shen-Yeaw, and representatives of Central American countries, as well as Ambassador Liao, having a group picture taken


The new director, Ambassador Liao, engaging in conversation with guests


The outgoing director, Mr. Xie, engaging in conversation with guests