President Ma Ying-jeou received the incoming ambassador from Guatemala – Olga Maria Aguja Zuniga – on Monday. In their meeting, Ma presented her with her credentials and spoke of the strong relations between the two countries, which have spanned 80 years.
President Ma spoke about how the two sides have worked closely in the area of medicine, with Taiwan helping the Central American nation to build an organ transplant center. Guatemala has also expressed interest in working with Taiwan to build a liver transplant center.
President Ma said Monday that Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, is one of the best in the world, and had even performed a transplant on a Guatemalan infant.
“I believe that this sort of cooperation in the field of medicine, especially transplants, is a sign of the close nature of bilateral ties, and it’s very important for our diplomatic relations," said Ma.
President Ma said he looked forward to even closer ties between the two countries with the arrival of the new Guatemalan ambassador. He called her an “old friend”, saying that she had participated in a previous exchange with Taiwan, and that her daughter had received a master’s degree from a local university.