Visiting Saint Lucia Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire on Monday said that his five-day visit to Taiwan is intended to thank the country for being a “very special friend of Saint Lucia” and explore ways to deepen the two sides’ already cordial relationship.
Speaking to local media at the Saint Lucian embassy in Taipei, Hilaire, who arrived earlier that day, said the main goal of his first visit to Taiwan is to “express our appreciation and gratitude” to the government and people of Taiwan for the assistance and support they have given to his country.
“Taiwan is a very special friend of Saint Lucia,” Hilaire said, adding that the allies maintain strong bilateral relations in a number of areas.
Photo: CNA
The second objective of his visit is to talk with Taiwan’s government and private businesses about how to deepen those relations in terms of agriculture and healthcare systems, as well as in the field of creative industry and cultural exchanges, he said.
Hilaire, who is also Saint Lucia’s minister for tourism, investment, creative industries, culture and information, said that Taiwan is known for its advancements in the creative industry.
Earlier on Monday, he visited an old wooden Japanese house-turned cafe at Taipei tourism hotspot Yongkang Street.
Just by studying these examples in Taiwan, Hilaire said Saint Lucia can learn to transfer the Caribbean country’s historical relics into tourism attractions.
Speaking of the country’s diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC), the deputy prime minister said that his government recognizes its “unique relationship” with Taiwan.
“If you go to Saint Lucia and you visited communities in a very direct way, you can see the benefits of that relationship with Taiwan; you will literally walk through the communities, and you will see footpaths, roads, retaining walls, you see school repair, you see housing repair,” he said.
“There’s so much you can see in the landscape of Saint. Lucia, that’s a direct relationship with Taiwan,” he added.
Asked about China’s influence in Latin America and the Caribbean region, Hilaire said it is for each country to make their own decision on relations with Beijing.
“We pride ourselves on appreciating the friendship that we have” with Taiwan, he added.
Asked about an upcoming baseball game in Taoyuan, Hilaire said he spent a few years as an administrator for the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
Therefore, he enjoys attending sporting events when visiting different countries, Hilaire said.
Although he does not know much about baseball, he added that he believes attending live sporting events is the best way to “feel the vibe and pulse” of local people.
“I mean you really can tell the nature of a society by how they relate to sport in life,” he said.
Hilaire’s delegation also includes Sidney Darwin Guard, chair of the Saint Lucian-government funded Cultural Development Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Republic of China and Saint Lucia first established diplomatic relations in 1984, but ties were broken in 1997 when the Caribbean country switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing. In April 2007, Taiwan and Saint Lucia re-established diplomatic relations and China severed its ties with the latter.
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