Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez and his wife are to lead a delegation to Taiwan next week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry said it welcomed the plan for the visit from Tuesday to Saturday, adding that the delegation is also to include Paraguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs Julio Cesar Arriola and Paraguayan Minister of Industry and Commerce Luis Castiglion.
It would be Abdo’s second visit to Taiwan since taking office, the ministry said, adding that he attended the Double Ten National Day celebration in 2018.
Photo: REUTERS
Abdo and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) are to exchange views on bilateral cooperation, while Cesar and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) are to sign an agreement on diplomatic personnel training, exchanges and cooperation, it said.
The visit comes after Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies President Carlos Maria Lopez led a legislative delegation to Taiwan last month.
Taiwan and Paraguay have been diplomatic allies for 65 years and maintain good relations, the ministry said, adding that joint projects implemented by the two nations have promoted economic and social development in the Latin American country.
The Paraguayan government supports Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and on multiple occasions voiced support for the nation at the UN General Assembly, it added.
The delegation is to join a Paraguayan meat promotion and investment seminar held by the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei, Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Vivian Lien (連玉蘋) said yesterday.
Abdo and his wife are to prepare dishes drawing from Taiwanese and Paraguayan culinary traditions at the event, she said.
The seminar would introduce investment opportunities in Paraguay and shed light on its trade environment, she added.
The couple is also to attend a forum on women’s empowerment held by the International Cooperation and Development Fund under the commission of the ministry, fund deputy secretary-general Stephen Lee (李志宏) said.
Tsai; Rossana Briceno, the wife of Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno; and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Keisal Peters are also to attend the forum, which would run from Tuesday to Thursday, he said.
The ministry commissioned the event to highlight the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Taiwan’s achievements in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, the ministry said in a news release.
Female politicians and experts from Taiwan’s allies and other countries friendly to the nation are invited to share their efforts in promoting women’s participation in economic development in their countries, it said.
The ministry launched a program to help economic recovery and promote the empowerment of women in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2021, it said.
The program has received positive feedback from the allies and yielded fruitful results, which would be shared at the forum, it said.
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