“The government is committed to promoting steadfast diplomacy and hopes to create a win-win situation for the ROC and its diplomatic allies through joint cooperation projects,” Chen said upon his arrival in the Dominican Republic. “In the process, we wish to review the effectiveness of these initiatives and further share the technical capabilities of Taiwan firms.”
Chen, on a four-day visit to the Caribbean nation, is representing President Tsai Ing-wen at the swearing-in ceremony of Medina and Vice President Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez Aug. 16 in the capital Santo Domingo.
Prior to touching down in the Dominican Republic, Chen stopped over in New York where he was warmly welcomed at John F. Kennedy International Airport by Joseph R. Donovan, managing director of the Washington Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, Stanley Kao, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S., and more than 100 members of the Taiwan expatriate community.
According to the vice president, the aim of his first trip abroad since taking office in May is to raise Taiwan’s international visibility, boost the confidence of those leading the nation’s diplomatic efforts abroad and strengthen bilateral trade and economic cooperation with the Dominican Republic based on reciprocity and mutual support.
Chen is scheduled to hold discussions with Medina and de Fernandez on deepening bilateral ties, as well as meet with other heads of state and representatives. Additional activities on his itinerary include inspecting bilateral cooperation projects, touring a Taiwan-funded orchid farm and solar power plant, and interacting with ROC nationals living and working in the Dominican Republic.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tsai was the first head of state invited to the inauguration, underscoring the strength of two-way relations. Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Andres Navarro extended the invitation while attending Tsai and Chen’s swearing-in ceremony as the representative of Medina in May.
Chen, who is heading a 14-member delegation including his wife Lo Fong-ping, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Tseng Hou-jen and MOFA Deputy Minister Javier Ching-shan Hou, will stopover again in New York before returning Aug. 20 to Taiwan.
The ROC established official diplomatic ties with the Dominican Republic in 1941, and the island nation is home to about 15,000 overseas Chinese. The latest statistics from the Ministry of Finance show that bilateral trade was US$59.6 million during the first five months of 2016, up 11.25 percent year on year. Taiwan investment in the Latin American country totaled US$168.3 million as of June, with 57 firms operated by ROC nationals providing 2,600 jobs in the manufacturing and services sectors. (SFC-E)
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