President to visit three Pacific island allies

ROC Central News Agency

2017/10/13 19:51:12

Taipei, Oct. 13 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will visit three of Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Pacific from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, the Presidential Office announced Friday.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Wu Chih-chung (吳志中) said at a press conference that the president will visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands.

She will meet with Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, Tuvalu Governor-General Iakoba Italeli and Prime Minister Enele S. Sopoaga, and Solomon Islands Governor-General Frank Kabui and Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to exchange opinions on bilateral relations and issues of international importance.

Tsai will use these opportunities, as well as speeches she is scheduled to make in front of the Legislature and Parliament in Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands, respectively, to promote Taiwan's steadfast diplomacy, as well as offer assistance on these allies' attainment of sustainable development goals, Wu noted.

Six of Taiwan's 20 formal diplomatic allies are in the Pacific, the other three being Nauru, Kiribati and Palau.

Wu noted that Taiwan's relations with its Pacific island allies are all steady, with no real issues.

Tsai's delegation will include Presidential Office Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維), Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod, and various legislators.

(By Fan Cheng-hsiang, Liu Lee-jung and Kuan-lin Liu)
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