《TAIPEI TIMES》 Pena of Paraguay hopes to visit

By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter

Paraguayan president-elect Santiago Pena yesterday said in a telephone call with President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） that he hoped to visit Taiwan soon.

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Pena, of the ruling Colorado Party, won the presidential election on Sunday and pledged to continue strengthening ties of fraternity and cooperation with Taiwan.

Tsai spoke on the phone with Pena for about 20 minutes, the Presidential Office said in a press release.

She congratulated Pena on his landslide victory, in which he garnered about 43 percent of the vote, and expressed hope that ties with Paraguay would be further expanded and deepened, the office said.

She thanked Pena for repeatedly voicing support for Taiwan and pledging to cement ties with the nation, it said.

There was concern that Taiwan’s relationship with Paraguay was under threat prior to the election, as Pena’s main rival, Efrain Alegre, had said that, if elected, he would cut diplomatic ties with Taipei and recognize Beijing.

Close cooperation between Taiwan and Paraguay has brought great outcomes since Mario Abdo Benitez took office as Paraguayan president in 2018, Tsai said.

Based on their close ties and a solid foundation for cooperation, the two nations would seek more bilateral programs in agricultural technology, public healthcare, education and electric transportation, she said.

When Abdo Benitez visited Taiwan last month, Tsai accompanied him to visit the RAC Electric Vehicle factory at the Port of Taichung, where they met several Paraguayan students who have taken up key positions in the company after graduating from universities in Taiwan, she said, adding that hopefully Taipei and Asuncion would arrange more talent exchanges and training programs.

Pena thanked Tsai for her congratulatory message, saying that he had met her when she last visited the country.

He visited Taiwan 22 years ago to attend workshops and hoped to see Tsai again soon, Pena said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu （吳釗燮）, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui （俞大?）, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo （顧立雄） and Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Xavier Chang （張惇涵） also participated in the call, the office said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES