Ma eyes enhanced ROC-El Salvador exchanges

2015/09/10

President Ma Ying-jeou said Sept. 8 that he looks forward to taking ROC-El Salvador relations to the next level, bolstering exchanges and interactions across the board.

“El Salvador has been a staunch ally of the ROC since the commencement of diplomatic ties in 1933,” Ma said. “Going forward, bilateral cooperation will expand across the areas of energy, food processing, tourism and trade as per the joint agreement inked last July when I visited the Central American nation.”

Ma made the remarks during a reception for El Salvador Vice President Oscar Samuel Ortiz Ascencio at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ortiz is the highest-ranking official of the current El Salvador governmet to visit Taiwan. He is in country for inauguration of an economic counselor office under the nation’s embassy in Taipei. Also visiting are El Salvador Foreign Minister Jaime Miranda and Vice Minister of Economics Luz Estrella Rodriguez.

The president said the office paves the way for heightened two-way economic and trade exchanges, capitalizing on the ROC’s role as a creator of new technology and business opportunities in the international community.

“Such a development is backed by a memorandum of understanding signed last October,” Ma said, adding that the ROC will assist El Salvador develop capabilities across the areas of agriculture, disaster prevention, economy, education, environment, medical care, social inclusion, tourism and youth development.

The ROC also provides scholarships for 25 El Salvador students to study in Taiwan each year, an initiative laying the foundation for deeper people-to-people interactions going forward, the president added.

“El Salvador has demonstrated true friendship over the years by supporting the ROC’s bid to participate in international agencies like the World Health Assembly, International Civil Aviation Organization and U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“We seek to advance this robust relationship and pave the path of lasting prosperity for the peoples of the two countries.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234756&ctNode=2194&mp=9)