President Lai Ching-te expressed his hope that Taiwan and the Marshall Islands expand cooperation and exchanges across the board to benefit citizens of both countries.
Lai made the remarks while receiving a group from the Nitijela, as the Pacific nation’s legislature is known, July 15 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. The contingent is led by the body’s speaker, Brenson Wase, and includes senators Bruce Loeak, Jack Ading and Wilbur Heine.
The president extended his appreciation to Wase for facilitating closer ties in his previous ministerial roles, which spanned finance, transportation and communication, and justice. In recent years, Lai said, the two countries have collaboratively tackled the pandemic and climate change while also working together on agriculture and women’s empowerment.
Lai added that going forward, the allies will expand exchanges in education, personnel training and sports, with a memorandum of understanding on educational collaboration being inked this month. The president emphasized the importance of mutual efforts to increase each other’s visibility on the global stage, pointing out resolutions passed by the Nitijela in April that support Taiwan’s international participation, as well as recent backing from Taiwan of the Micronesian Games hosted in the Marshall Islands.
In response, Wase said Taiwan and the Marshall Islands established diplomatic links 26 years ago on a foundation of mutual respect and shared values of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. He called the country an invaluable partner that has consistently provided assistance in fields as varied as agriculture, education, infrastructure and medicine.
Wase said that his country would continue to stand by Taiwan and promote its inclusion in the International Civil Aviation Organization, Interpol, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and World Health Organization, and expressed confidence that Taiwan’s involvement would further advance global peace and stability. (POC-E)
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