Taiwan Foreign Minister receives warm welcome and announces “New Impetus for Future Cooperation”

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]aiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Lee Ta-wei and his wife Lin Chih received a warm welcome as they arrived in Saint Lucia Tuesday January 31. Prime Minister Honourable Allen Chastanet and his wife Mrs. Raquel Duboulay-Chastanet, as well as Ministers of Cabinet and Government officials were on hand to receive the Taiwan delegation at Hewanorra Airport.

“On behalf of the Government and People of Saint Lucia I must express how incredibly grateful we are for you being here. Mr Lee it is such a great pleasure to have you here for the first time on Saint Lucian soil,” stated Prime Minister Chastanet, conveying also his thanks to the Taiwan President and Foreign Minister for the hospitality that was shown to him and the Saint Lucia delegation when they travelled to Taiwan in November.

“I am looking forward to the next couple of days where we will show you our beautiful island of Saint Lucia,” said PM Chastanet particularly as it related to the Wednesday’s trip to Soufriere. “During the trip to Soufriere we will see some of the projects funded by your Government.”

H. E. Dr. Lee Ta-wei stated that he was “most honoured to pay an official visit to Saint Lucia.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to pay high respect to our friends in Saint Lucia and convey to you the cordial greetings and well wishes of President Tsai Ing-wen,” Dr. Lee said. “Although Taiwan and Saint Lucia are far apart the friendship between our two peoples and the governments have remained strong since the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 2007. We have cooperated closely with each other in domestic aid programmes and international affairs.

“With the visit of Prime Minister Chastanet to Taiwan last November we have turned a new chapter in the annals of our diplomatic relations. I can foresee progress on all fronts of bilateral relations in the years to come,” he went on. “Taiwan attaches great importance to its relations with Saint Lucia. The commitments are for the long run. During my visit I will see first-hand the positive effects of our cooperation programmes. I will also have the opportunity to exchange in-depth opinion with the Prime Minister and relevant ministers on bilateral relations and global issues. I look forward to learning from your successful experiences. I am confident this visit will achieve the goals of strengthening mutual trust, expanding friendships and fostering new impetus for future cooperation.”

On Wednesday morning the Taiwan Foreign Minister and Resident Taiwan Ambassador  H.E. Douglas Shen met with members of Cabinet at the Finance Administrative Centre, following which the delegation proceeded to Soufriere.