Tsai hosts state banquet for President Heine, pledges to deepen Taiwan-Marshall Island ties

2018/07/31

President Tsai Ing-wen hosted a state banquet for Marshall Islands President Hilda C. Heine July 27 at Office of the President in Taipei City, reiterating the government’s commitment to expanding bilateral relations and promoting cooperation across a broad spectrum of areas.
 
 Exchanges between the Indo-Pacific partners are paying handsome dividends, Tsai said, citing the presidential youth scholarship program she established with Heine during a state visit to the Pacific ally in late 2017, as well as an 83 percent year-on-year increase in the number of Taiwan Scholarship Program recipients from the Marshall Islands.
 
 Tourism is another potential-laden area for the like-minded countries, the president said. This is evidenced by the well-attended bakery, bed-and-breakfast and hotel management training programs open to citizens of the Marshall Islands co-organized by the Ministry of Labor in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City, she added.
 
 According to Tsai, the government will encourage more students from the Marshall Islands to travel to Taiwan and pursue similar skills training courses and higher education. In this way, the young people of both nations will develop a deeper understanding of one another’s societies and strengthen the bonds of friendship, she said.
 
 In response, Heine reaffirmed the commitment of the Marshall Islands to Taiwan. She also praised the country’s role in promoting regional peace, stability and prosperity, adding that her government will continue supporting Taiwan’s efforts to play a bigger role in the global community through meaningful participation in U.N.-affiliated organizations and international events such as the Pacific Islands Forum.
 
 Returning to Taiwan for the first time since attending Tsai’s inauguration in May 2016, Heine is leading a delegation of senior officials on a seven-day official trip.
 
 Earlier the same day, Tsai and Heine presided over the signing of agreements on visa-free entry and coast guard collaboration by Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu and Marshall Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade John M. Silk.
 
 According to the Office of the President, the pacts are a natural extension of mutually beneficial cooperation initiatives spanning areas like agriculture, clean energy, environmental protection, health care and talent cultivation.
 
 Taiwan and the Marshall Islands will springboard off this partnership of success and implement more collaborative undertakings so as to advance sustainable development and build a better tomorrow for the people of both nations, the Office of the President said.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=2&post=138819)