Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez thanked Taiwan for its assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reiterated his firm support for the country yesterday.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) welcomed Abdo Benitez and his wife, Silvana Lopez Moreira, with a military salute in front of the Presidential Office Building yesterday, on their first visit in four years, and the first state visit since Abdo took office in 2018.
Tsai said the visit would boost cooperation between Taiwan and Paraguay in their mutual pursuit of economic prosperity after the pandemic.
Photo: Johnson Lai, AP
Abdo Benitez thanked Taiwan for providing timely help to Paraguay and the world during the pandemic, saying that he came to Taiwan “as a friend who is grateful.”
The government provided technical assistance to Paraguay in areas such as healthcare, education and human resource training, he said.
The relations between the two sides are growing stronger on the basis of economic, trade and cultural exchanges in the spirit of honesty and mutual assistance, Abdo Benitez said.
Paraguay and Taiwan allies and strategic partners that hope the world can be peaceful, democratic, sustainable, safe, free and full of development opportunities, he added.
“Close cooperation is the secret to a stable and long-term relationship between the two countries,” Abdo Benitez said.
Taiwanese have never given up the fight for freedom, sovereignty and peace despite facing continued threats, Abdo Benitez said, adding that Taiwan has been a beacon of democracy in the region.
Taiwan is a model to learn from as it is dedicated to promoting technology in the hope of making the world a better place through scientific advancements, he said.
Paraguay supports Taiwan’s participation in UN organizations, as it believes the country can make important contributions to help international society solve the hallenges faced by humanity today, such as poverty, climate change and terrorism, he said.
After the ceremony, Tsai and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) received Abdo Benitez, his wife, Paraguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs Julio Cesar Arriola and Paraguayan Minister of Industry and Commerce Luis Castiglion at the Presidential Office.
He thanked Taiwan for launching in 2021 the Assisting the Economic Empowerment of Women in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Post COVID-19 Era project, which helped Paraguay achieve the highest employment rate in the South American trade bloc Mercosur.
Taiwan’s assistance in the past three years helped Paraguay mitigate a drop in its economic growth, which fell by 0.8 percent, compared with the average fall of 7.4 percent across Latin American countries, Abdo Benitez said.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has more than tripled, Abdo Benitez said, adding that projects under a bilateral economic cooperation agreement signed in 2018 have helped Paraguay’s development.
The two presidents witnessed Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Cesar sign an agreement to enhance diplomatic training, exchanges and cooperation before the Paraguayan delegation attended a state banquet hosted by Tsai.
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