President Lai Ching-te said May 8 that Taiwan is committed to deepening cooperation with Paraguay as they take democracy, peace and prosperity as pathways to engage with the world and that together contribute more to the international community.
Lai made the remarks while meeting with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. Accompanied by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, he thanked Peña for attending their inauguration two years ago.
Taiwan and Paraguay enjoy more than 60 years of diplomatic ties, Lai said, adding that both jointly defend the values of freedom and democracy, and closely cooperate in areas spanning smart healthcare, industrial transformation and women’s empowerment.
The two countries have especially deep connections in economics and trade, the president said, citing that Paraguay ranked second among sources of Taiwan beef imports and first for Paraguay pork last year. He further announced that Taiwan will formally open its market to Paraguay poultry imports.
According to Lai, the two presidents will witness the signing of a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, a memorandum of understanding on cyber security cooperation and an MOU on the Paraguay-Taiwan sovereign AI and computing infrastructure investment project. As the two countries both face authoritarian expansion and are indispensable in the global democratic value chain, it is ever more important that they strengthen collaboration and move forward together, he added.
In response, Peña emphasized Paraguay’s staunch support for Taiwan’s participation in international multilateral systems. He called on the international community to recognize Taiwanese people’s right to self-determination and reasserted that excluding Taiwan from important platforms and systems such as the U.N. is an injustice and undermines the legitimacy of these organizations.
The Paraguayan president further condemned China’s military exercises around Taiwan and its escalation of economic pressure, and also reaffirmed that Taiwan has the right to engage freely with other nations and should not be subject to any improper interference intended to isolate it. He concluded by thanking Lai for opening Taiwan’s market to Paraguayan poultry products and expressed hope for continued expansion and diversification of bilateral trade.
Following the talk, Lai hosted a state banquet and conferred Peña on the Order of Brilliant Jade with Grand Cordon for his contributions to deepening Taiwan-Paraguay relations. (YCH-E)
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Lai made the remarks while meeting with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. Accompanied by Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, he thanked Peña for attending their inauguration two years ago.
Taiwan and Paraguay enjoy more than 60 years of diplomatic ties, Lai said, adding that both jointly defend the values of freedom and democracy, and closely cooperate in areas spanning smart healthcare, industrial transformation and women’s empowerment.
The two countries have especially deep connections in economics and trade, the president said, citing that Paraguay ranked second among sources of Taiwan beef imports and first for Paraguay pork last year. He further announced that Taiwan will formally open its market to Paraguay poultry imports.
According to Lai, the two presidents will witness the signing of a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, a memorandum of understanding on cyber security cooperation and an MOU on the Paraguay-Taiwan sovereign AI and computing infrastructure investment project. As the two countries both face authoritarian expansion and are indispensable in the global democratic value chain, it is ever more important that they strengthen collaboration and move forward together, he added.
In response, Peña emphasized Paraguay’s staunch support for Taiwan’s participation in international multilateral systems. He called on the international community to recognize Taiwanese people’s right to self-determination and reasserted that excluding Taiwan from important platforms and systems such as the U.N. is an injustice and undermines the legitimacy of these organizations.
The Paraguayan president further condemned China’s military exercises around Taiwan and its escalation of economic pressure, and also reaffirmed that Taiwan has the right to engage freely with other nations and should not be subject to any improper interference intended to isolate it. He concluded by thanking Lai for opening Taiwan’s market to Paraguayan poultry products and expressed hope for continued expansion and diversification of bilateral trade.
Following the talk, Lai hosted a state banquet and conferred Peña on the Order of Brilliant Jade with Grand Cordon for his contributions to deepening Taiwan-Paraguay relations. (YCH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
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