Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes yesterday arrived for a three-day state visit and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) after the delegation landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to officially welcome Cartes today with full military honors, including a 21-gun salute, and host a banquet in his honor.
During his visit, Cartes is to attend events to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, visit major economic facilities and have exchanges with major business leaders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
This is Cartes’ third visit to Taiwan since he became president on Aug. 15, 2013, and is a reciprocal visit for Tsai’s trip to Paraguay in June last year.
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) is to accompany Cartes to several events, including a performance of traditional Paraguayan dance and an art exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of ties, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said.
Tsai is to host Cartes during a cultural tour of Kaohsiung and visits to several of the city’s major infrastructure projects, he added.
Photo: Courtesy of Chunghwa Post Co
Cartes is also scheduled to visit high-tech companies in Tainan.
Taiwan and Paraguay have had close cooperation and exchanges in trade, medicine, education and agriculture, the ministry said.
Chunghwa Post Co announced yesterday that Paraguay is scheduled to issue a commemorative two-stamp set today to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
The stamps depict the Presidential Office Building in Taipei and its Asuncion counterpart, as well as the two nation’s flags and the number 60, Chunghwa Post said.
A total of 700 stamp folders will be available from 9am to 2pm today at Taipei’s Beimen Post Office; each one containing a set of commemorative stamps, a first-day cover and folder, Chunghwa Post said.
Each folder will cost NT$130 and a first-day commemorative postmark engraved in Paraguay is included in the package, Chunghwa Post added.
Cartes’ visit comes just weeks after Panama switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China, leaving Taipei with only 20 diplomatic allies. Paraguay is the nation’s only diplomatic ally in South America.
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