Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) arrived in Belize on Saturday from the Dominican Republic on the second and final leg of a 12-day visit to the Latin American and Caribbean regions that began on Monday last week.
Wu was welcomed at the airport with a military salute and greeted by Belizean Governor-General Sir Colville Young and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington.
He was expected to meet with Taiwanese expatriates yesterday evening and with Young and Belizean Prime Minister Dean Oliver Barrow today.
At a meeting with Taiwanese press following his arrival, Wu said the US has accorded him “full respect and cooperation” to make his transit stops in New York and Los Angeles during his trip.
He attributed this to the rebuilding of trust between Taiwan and the US during President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) term.
A day earlier in the Dominican Republic, Wu said Taiwan holds a positive view of the development of trade relations between the Caribbean nation and China.
These relations will not affect ties between Taiwan and the Dominican Republic, Wu said.
Between 2002 and 2008, Taiwan gave US$8 million to help build a vocational training center and plans to offer US$3 million annually for another four years to help upgrade job training in the Caribbean country, according to Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang ( 王如玄), who is accompanying Wu on his tour.
While touring a high-tech science park which was jointly funded by Taiwan and the Caribbean diplomatic ally, Wu said he was impressed by the country’s technological advances and its commitment to the development of the high-tech sector.
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