Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr is today to arrive in Taiwan in a visit that is to include Double Ten National Day celebrations and meetings with top government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Whipps and his delegation are to be welcomed with military honors ahead of a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to discuss issues of interest to both countries, the ministry said.
It remains unclear how long the Palauan delegation would stay in Taiwan. The ministry said it would provide more details on their trip later.
Photo: CNA
In addition to attending national day celebrations on Monday next week, Whipps is on Friday to address the Yushan Forum on its opening day, when he is to deliver a speech on the forum’s theme of “revitalizing, reorienting and reconnecting,” the ministry said.
The delegation would also meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材), among other officials, to exchange ideas on a variety of issues including tourism, logistics, global finance, agriculture and fisheries, it said.
During a meeting yesterday in which she accepted a letter of credentials presented by Palau’s new ambassador to Taiwan, David Adams Orrukem, Tsai said she looked forward to welcoming Whipps and his delegation.
Over the past two decades, Taiwan and Palau have collaborated in areas such as agriculture, fisheries, health, education, culture and clean energy, she said.
She added that Taiwan’s plan to scrap its COVID-19 quarantine mandate for all arriving passengers from Thursday next week would “greatly benefit the development of tourism for both countries.”
Tsai said she hoped that Taiwan’s cooperation with Palau would deepen in the coming years with the help of Orrukem.
Orrukem, who arrived in Taiwan at the end of last month, pledged to continue building a strong relationship between Palau and Taiwan and to “make our shared vision for the future a reality.”
He said Palauans had benefited from medical and educational assistance offered by Taiwanese and their government, adding that he would work with Taiwan to boost bilateral ties in areas such as agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, transportation, finance and commerce.
Palau, which established official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1999, is one of 14 states in the world to have such relations.
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