President Lai Ching-te received several delegations from allies and partner countries at the Presidential Office May 22 in Taipei City, reaffirming the government’s commitment to deepening relations and promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Delegations from allies Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands, as well as like-minded partners Lithuania, Singapore and Somaliland, were in the country to attend the May 20 inauguration of Lai and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, according to the PO.
Lai first met with Marshall Islands President Hilda C. Heine and her husband. During their discussion, he vowed to continue expanding partnership with the Pacific island state, particularly in the areas of climate change and women’s empowerment.
The new president then welcomed St. Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Hanley, praised the bilateral ties spanning 40 years and said he looks forward to more renewable energy and climate change exchanges to promote the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
During his meeting with St. Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, Lai thanked the Caribbean ally for speaking up for Taiwan at international events and pledged to enhance youth exchanges. The president welcomed Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo later in the day, expressing his hope of seeing more mutually beneficial cooperation.
While receiving Haiti Amb. Roudy Stanley Penn, Lai offered congratulations on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan to the ally for successfully setting up its Transitional Presidential Council last month.
Other delegations received by the new president included groups led by Dalia Grybauskaitė, former president of Lithuania; Said Jama Ali, first deputy speaker of Somaliland’s House of Elders; and Abdullah Tarmugi, former speaker of the Parliament of Singapore. (SFC-E)
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