President Ma Ying-jeou is calling for continued cooperation between Taiwan and the Dominican Republic. He was speaking on Monday morning while meeting with his Dominican counterpart Danilo Medina in the Caribbean country.
President Ma is on the first leg of a three-country visit to Central America and the Caribbean.
Ma gave a speech before the Dominican congress later in the day. He spoke about cooperative efforts between the two sides. The two countries have worked together on vocational training and have built a child care center and a 911 emergency center. Ma said that the Dominican Republic will send a delegation to Taiwan to seek business opportunities.
The president also spoke about how Monday was a special day for him.
“Today is my 65th birthday. To be able to meet your president in the morning and discuss cooperative plans, and then to give a speech before your highest law-making body in the afternoon, is an honor of a lifetime," said Ma.
The president also celebrated his birthday by going for an early morning run in the Dominican Republic. He was set to leave for Haiti – the second leg of his trip – on Tuesday morning, local time.