President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Sunday held bilateral talks in Panama with leaders of four of the nation’s Central American allies on ways to improve cooperation, a Presidential Office official said.
Tsai had meetings with Guatemalan Vice President Jafeth Cabrera Franco, Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina, Salvadorean Vice President Oscar Samuel Ortiz and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Tseng Hou-jen (曾厚仁) said.
Tseng said that Tsai spoke with Cabrera about Taiwan’s strength in the pharmaceutical sector and proposed further discussions with Guatemala on partnerships in that area.
Tsai also talked about enhancing cooperation between the two nations in the areas of health and medical services, education and infrastructure, he said.
In the discussions with Medina, Tsai responded positively to his suggestion that the Dominican Republic seek more investments from Taiwanese textile manufacturers and she proposed that the two nations continue to expand trade and economic cooperation, Tseng said.
Tsai’s meeting with Ortiz focused on his proposal that Taiwan could serve as gateway for Salvadorean products to enter the broader Asian market, Tseng said.
Tsai said she would ask the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to study how a platform could be established to help introduce Salvadorean products into Asia, Tseng said.
The discussions between Tsai and Hernandez highlighted the Taiwan Scholarship program, which Hernandez said was helping to cultivate talent in his nation, Tseng said.
Tsai proposed the two nations expand exchanges of students and entrepreneurs, and encourage more Hondurans to study in Taiwan.
She also raised the idea of an internship program for foreign students in Taiwan, through which they would be able to practically apply their knowledge.
The meetings were held before Sunday’s inauguration ceremony for the Panama Canal Expansion project. Tsai later attended a banquet hosted by Varela to celebrate the inauguration.
Tsai and Varela were scheduled to hold bilateral discussions yesterday.
From Panama, Tsai is scheduled to travel to Paraguay.
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