President Ma Ying-jeou praised bilateral cooperation between Taiwan and Paraguay as he welcomed Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes to Taiwan.
The two leaders met at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on Wednesday. Ma said that although Paraguay is farther away from Taiwan than any of Taiwan’s other diplomatic allies, the distance between the two countries does not affect their friendship. Ma said that since attending Cartes’ inauguration last year, he had been looking forward to an opportunity to have Cartes visit Taiwan.
During his remarks, President Ma said that Taiwan and Paraguay are putting a number of plans for bilateral cooperation into action. These include a plan to build a community of 4,500 homes within five years in an effort to fight poverty in Paraguay. The community will have access to running water, electricity, and health clinics. Families with female breadwinners will have a priority when the houses are allocated.
Ma said that the housing plan will improve the standard of living for Paraguayan people while also raising the position of Paraguayan women.
Ma also said that Taiwan and Paraguay are cooperating in the areas of aquaculture and growing orchids. He said that the future of bilateral cooperation also looks bright. Taiwanese mobile medical groups are already in Paraguay performing operations including joint replacement surgery. In the future, they plan to share their experience in developing electronic medicine.
Ma said that Taiwan and Paraguay will continue to cooperate, and that he hopes Paraguay will help Taiwanese businesses expand into the Paraguayan market.