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Ma welcomes Guatemalan leader

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday welcomed Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom with a military review and 21-gun salute at Taipei’s Liberty Square.

Addressing the ceremony, Ma said that Guatemala and the Republic of China (ROC) have maintained close and cordial bilateral ties since the two countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1935.

He said the ROC values its deep-rooted friendship with Guatemala and will continue to bolster bilateral exchanges, including cooperation in business and trade and exchanges of visits by personnel from the two sides.

“The ROC is more than willing to share its development experiences with Guatemala, particularly at a time when the world situation is changing fast,” Ma said.

He said Colom’s “extraordinary leadership” is “greatly respected and adored” by the Guatemalan people.

Ma gave Colom a hearty welcome to Taiwan as the first president from a foreign country to arrive to attend tomorrow’s Double Ten National Day celebrations since Ma took office on May 20.

Colom offered his most sincere gratitude to Taiwan for its staunch support for and cooperation with Guatemala.

Noting that Taiwanese people are known around the world for their great diligence in work, Colom said that the ROC is a role model for Guatemala.

“There are [a] great number of friends of Guatemala in Taiwan, among them Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco H.L. Ou,” Colom said, adding that they would help increase the cooperation between the two countries.

Colom expressed hope that Taiwan and Guatemala could fight shoulder to shoulder and fare well in the face of mounting global challenges of energy resources, environmental protection, climate change and other critical issues.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
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