During a meeting with a visiting delegation led by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sir Louis Hilton Straker and Mrs. Straker on the morning of March 28, President Tsai Ing-wen thanked SVG for speaking up in favor of Taiwan's international participation. She also expressed hope that Taiwan and SVG will have more frequent exchanges on a variety of cooperative issues.
President Tsai stated that SVG has long been a staunch diplomatic ally of Taiwan. Deputy Prime Minister Straker is a good friend and long-term supporter, and in 2016, made a special trip to attend President Tsai and Vice President Chen Chien-jen's inauguration ceremonies. The president then said that she was pleased to receive Deputy Prime Minister Straker, and offered a warm welcome on behalf of the people of Taiwan.
The president mentioned that since Deputy Prime Minister Straker was last here, Taiwan and SVG have continued to promote cooperative programs in infrastructure, agriculture, information and communications technology, education, and youth counseling, and also made breakthroughs in medical exchanges. Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Straker and Taiwan's former Foreign Affairs Minister David T. Leesigned an Agreement on the Capacity Building Project for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes in SVG. With the support and assistance of Taiwan's Mackay Memorial Hospital, this marks the first time our International Development and Cooperation Fund (ICDF) has teamed up with a domestic medical institution on a diabetes prevention project. We're very pleased that our cooperation with SVG is helping Taiwan's medical diplomacy gain momentum, and continues to make progress.
The president believes that SVG's program to fight diabetes, the first of its kind in Central and South America, will strengthen its diabetes prevention and treatment system, and also foster more interaction and a closer relationship between Taiwan and SVG. President Tsai specially thanked Deputy Prime Minister Straker for his strong support for bilateral exchanges and cooperation, and speaking up in favor of Taiwan's international participation.
The president emphasized that Taiwan and SVG have enjoyed friendly diplomatic ties for almost 40 years, and our cooperative efforts have yielded substantial achievements in many areas. This is the eighth time Deputy Prime Minister Straker has led a delegation to Taiwan, the mark of a deep friendship between the two countries. In closing, President Tsai once again welcomed her visitors and wished them a smooth and successful trip. She also asked the deputy prime minister to pass along her greetings to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves
