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Biannual Latin American forum to open in Taipei
CEMENTING TIES:
Lawmakers from Central American and Caribbean countries are expected to make known resolutions regarding efforts to increase ties with Taiwan
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Monday, Jul 02, 2007, Page 3
The 22nd conference of the Forum of Legislative Presidents of Central America is scheduled to be held in Taipei tomorrow, with 31 legislators from seven Latin American and Caribbean countries participating.
Delegations from the seven countries -- led by Julio Cesar Valentin, speaker of the House of Representatives of the Dominican Republic and chairman of the forum -- began to arrive in Taipei on Saturday for the conference.
Other Central American parliamentary leaders arriving for the conference include Phillip Zuniga of Belize, Ruben Orellana of El Salvador, Ruben Dario Morales Veliz of Guatemala, Roberto Micheletti of Honduras, Rene Nunez of Nicaragua and Susana Richa de Torrijos of Panama, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), together with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) -- a permanent observer of the forum -- are expected to deliver speeches at the gathering and exchange views with Central American leaders on regional cooperation and issues of mutual concern, the officials said.
Attendees are also expected to sign a joint statement and publicize the resolutions of the conference regarding efforts to cement ties between Taiwan and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The biannual forum, founded in Honduras in 1995, is composed of the presidents or representatives of legislatures of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize. Parliamentary leaders from the Dominican Republic were first admitted into the forum in 2000.
Taiwan applied to be an observer of the forum in 1999 when Wang was approved as a permanent observer.
The forum invited Chen to become an honorary member in 2000 when the forum held its 11th conference in Taipei on Nov. 13 that year.
The 2000 conference marked the first time the forum had been held in Taipei. Tomorrow's conference, the 22nd, will be the second time it is held in Taiwan.
During their stay, parliamentary leaders will pay a visit to Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) at the Presidential Office and are expected to receive medals of "Parliamentary Diplomacy" to be conferred by Wang, the officials said.
The parliamentary leaders are also scheduled to take the High Speed Rail to the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Hsinchu, travel to Ilan County via the newly inaugurated Hsuehshan Tunnel, visit the National Palace Museum in Taipei and tour other sites of cultural and economic significance.
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