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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Lai, Arevalo seek stronger ties in meeting
2025/06/06 03:00
President William Lai, center right, walks with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo during a welcome ceremony in Taipei yesterday. Photo: The Presidential Office via AP
GROWING CLOSER: Arevalo said his administration was seeking to develop a new chapter in Taiwan-Guatemala relations with enhanced economic and trade cooperation
By Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNA
Taiwan and Guatemala yesterday signed two agreements to boost cooperation on semiconductors and establish a new mechanism for political consultations, as President William Lai （賴清德） met with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The two countries will continue to build a mutually beneficial partnership in the face of mounting global challenges, Lai said, adding that the agreements would create new opportunities for cooperation.
Arevalo, accompanied by his wife, and foreign and economic ministers, arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday for his first visit to the nation since taking office last year.
Last year also marked the 90th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Guatemala, one of Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies at the UN.
This week’s visit reaffirms the two nations’ close ties and marks a “new level” in the bilateral relationship focused on expanding economic cooperation, solidifying an economic trade partnership and investing in educational opportunities for the citizens of both countries, Arevalo said.
“On behalf of the people of Guatemala, I extend our hand to the people of Taiwan with the confidence that we will walk together along the path toward shared well-being, which we will make more profound and more comprehensive today,” he said.
“Our two countries are geographically distant, but the ideals and values of the two peoples are closely intertwined,” Lai said, adding that the long-standing partnership reflects their shared commitment to democracy, freedom and human rights.
Ties have grown closer in the past few years, bringing a multitude of successes as cooperation expanded and diversified in the fields of health and sanitation, education and culture, science and technology, and economic trade, he said.
Taiwan will continue to work closely with Guatemala to provide youth exchange programs and scholarships to foster exceptional talent in science, technology and communications, he added.
Lai encouraged Taiwanese businesses to invest in Guatemala and utilize its strategic location, natural resources and strong workforce to improve supply chain resilience and promote bilateral relations.
The delegation is this week to visit Hsinchu Science Park （新竹科學園區） and the headquarters of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co （台積電）.
Guatemala last month sent a mission of 28 engineers to Taiwan for a three-week intensive training program in semiconductors.
Speaking to the Central News Agency on Wednesday evening, Arevalo said that his ongoing Taiwan trip is intended to take the decades-long historical ties between the two allies “to the next level” by enhancing economic and trade relations.
Arevalo said that his administration has been developing what he called “a new chapter in Guatemala-Taiwan relations.”
Elaborating on what he meant by the next level in bilateral relations, Arevalo said it means allowing both societies “to become much more intertwined,” including by “tightening the economic and, of course, commercial relations between our countries.”
Since taking office, Arevalo’s administration has been working with Taiwanese counterparts to identify areas to collaborate.
Both governments consider semiconductor and supply chain cooperation to be perfect for expanded collaboration and growth, Arevalo said.
“We believe that we can follow Taiwan’s very unique and important experience in building its own way into the high-tech industry,” he said.
In addition to high-tech cooperation, Arevalo said his country is also in talks with Taiwanese textile companies that are planning investments in Guatemala.
Arevalo said his country’s strategic location in Central America can serve as a bridge between Latin America and the US.
“So we believe that that is something that we can expand so that Guatemala can be made into, as you said, a niche with importance not only for itself and for its people, but for the whole economic development of the region,” he said.
Asked to say a few words to Taiwanese, the Guatemalan president said he is in Taiwan “to celebrate a long-standing friendship” and because Guatemala wants to be part of making these historical links “even stronger and more productive for the good of both our peoples.”
Following his Taipei trip, the Guatemalan leader is to visit Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He is to attend Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, meet the emperor of Japan and hold an official summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba while in Tokyo, the Guatemalan government said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
