《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Tsai begins state visit to Paraguay

STATE VISIT FINAL LEG: Tsai was to meet the ally’s president, and address its congress, after Taiwan and Panama signed a deal on immigration and trafficking

/ Staff writer, with CNA

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President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） arrived in Paraguay on Monday night, the second and final leg of her first state trip.

She was welcomed at the airport by a military salute, and was received by Paraguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs Eladio Loizaga and Ambassador to Paraguay Alexander Tah-ray Yui.

Despite a drizzle, hundreds of Taiwanese expatriates were at the airport to greet the president, who wore a creamy-white trench coat.

Tsai was to call on Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes, address Congress and meet with Senate President Mario Abdo Benitez yesterday.

Later in the day, she was to attend a state banquet hosted by Cartes and attend the opening ceremony of Taiwan’s newly built embassy.

Tsai was then to meet representatives of two Taiwanese Buddhist organizations in Paraguay before hosting a dinner party for leaders of Taiwanese compatriot groups.

Today, the president is scheduled to meet Paraguayan recipients of Taiwanese scholarships for breakfast and then visit a public school. In the afternoon, she is to visit a fertilizer factory that was established under a Taiwan-Paraguay technology cooperation program and attend the launch of an orchid-breeding project.

Tsai’s arrival in Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America followed a trip to Panama, where she met with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela.

Varela told Tsai that his nation supports peaceful development and dialogue across the Taiwan Strait and prosperity for the people of Taiwan and China.

Supporting the peaceful development of relations between Taiwan and China is a contribution that his government is prepared to make toward the promotion of world peace, Varela said.

He said he hoped Tsai’s visit would not only help boost bilateral relations, but also expand multilateral ties in the region.

Tsai said she hoped Varela would assist Taiwan in promoting development and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

She also asked Varela to help solve an issue raised by Panamanian students, who said the diplomas they receive in Taiwan are not widely recognized at home.

Tsai also attended the inaugural ceremony of the expanded Panama Canal and witnessed Taiwan’s donation of 3,000 boxes of flu medicine to the Panamanian Ministry of Health to help fight an H1N1 flu epidemic.

The two nations also signed an agreement pledging on cooperation on immigration and preventing human trafficking.

Tsai is to leave Paraguay tomorrow for Los Angeles, where she will stay overnight before heading home on Friday.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES