A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today.
The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Photo: CNA
Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility and duty from the Guatemalan people — the hope of deepening bilateral cooperation and strengthening friendship with Taiwan.
The Guatemala-Taiwan diplomatic relationship is about to enter a new stage, highlighted by the will of the people in the two countries, achieving mutual benefit and reciprocity through various cooperative mechanisms, and sharing and developing the common values of freedom, democracy and respect to sovereignty, based on the two countries’ history and culture, he said.
The visit is also very important for deepening mutual friendship, he said, adding that he believes it could open up new opportunities for cooperative relations.
The 10-person delegation is to stay in Taiwan until Sunday. The group includes Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ramiro Martinez, Guatemalan Minister of Economy Gabriela Garcia-Quinn and Guatemalan first lady Lucrecia Peinado, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Meanwhile, a delegation led by Eswatini Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pholile Shakantu arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon, the ministry said.
It is Shakantu’s second visit to Taiwan, following her visit in January last year, in which she met with then-vice president Lai, who had just won the presidential election, and told him that Eswatini would continue to be Taiwan’s strongest ally and would bolster ties.
The delegation met with Lin at the foreign ministry in Taipei yesterday, where they exchanged ideas about bilateral cooperation, trade and economic investments.
Lin said he visited the Kingdom of Eswatini in April as a special envoy to congratulate Eswatini King Mswati III on his birthday, and that he is glad to see the delegation visit Taiwan, demonstrating the close and frequent interactions between the two countries, as well as the deep and solid diplomatic relations.
He thanked King Mswati III and the Eswatini government for its firm support for Taiwan in the international community over the years, including at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, last month.
Having discussed issues concerning economics and trade, investment, tourism, and smart city and energy development with King Mswati III in April, Lin said he believes that through close cooperation, the vision of “Taiwan can help” and “Eswatini can lead [Africa]” can be achieved, bringing prosperity to Eswatini.
Members of the Eswatini delegation also included Minister of Public Works and Transport Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe, Minister for Finance Neal Rijkenberg, Minister of Public Works and Transport Manqoba Khumalo, Director of the King’s Office Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze and other Cabinet officials, the foreign ministry said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
RSS