January 14, 2024
No. 020
Republic of China (Taiwan) Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu, acting as special envoy of President Tsai Ing-wen, arrived in Guatemala on January 13 at 5 a.m. local time to attend the inauguration of Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo. Guatemalan Foreign Minister Mario Búcaro welcomed the delegation at the airport and spoke with Minister Wu at the airport’s VIP lounge. This marked the start of a series of events for Minister Wu in Guatemala.
The Guatemalan government showed the utmost respect to the delegation, arranging for incoming Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez to accompany Minister Wu to meet with President-elect Arévalo at 1:30 p.m. on January 13. During the meeting, President Arévalo stressed that he would continue to maintain diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Guatemala and hoped for greater cooperation with Taiwan as a way of further solidifying the bilateral friendship. Minister Wu presented a letter from President Tsai inviting President Arévalo to lead a delegation to Taiwan for the May 20 inauguration of Taiwan’s new president and vice president.
At 9:30 a.m., Minister Wu met with incoming Vice President Karin Herrera and Minister of Economy Gabriela García-Quinn, with whom he exchanged opinions on issues of mutual concern and the direction of future cooperation. At 11 a.m., Minister Wu traveled to the presidential office to meet with outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei. On behalf of Taiwan’s people and government, Minister Wu thanked President Giammattei for showing himself to be a true friend of Taiwan and staunchly supporting Taiwan during his four years in office.
At 3:30 p.m., Minister Wu met with Guatemala City Mayor Ricardo Quiñónez, exchanging opinions on infrastructure projects in the capital city. Minister Wu also welcomed the mayor to visit Taiwan again.
Later, at 8 p.m., Minister Wu, along with other congratulatory delegations, paid regards to President Giammattei at the National Palace. Minister Wu also interacted with the special envoys of other countries.
The first day of Minister Wu’s visit coincided with the counting of votes in Taiwan’s own presidential election. Foreign Minister Búcaro, learning that Vice President Lai Ching-te was the likely winner, offered congratulations when welcoming Minister Wu at the airport. At 8 a.m. the same day, Minister Wu met with President of Paraguay Santiago Peña for bilateral talks. President Peña, upon seeing the results of Taiwan’s election, immediately spoke with President-elect Lai and Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim via videoconference, becoming the first head of a diplomatic ally to personally offer such congratulations.
Minister Wu had a full schedule on the first day of his journey. Aside from reaffirming with both the current and incoming leaders of Guatemala and other key politicians the diplomatic friendship between the two countries and their willingness to continue cooperating, he also engaged the heads of state and special envoys of other allies and friendly nations. In so doing, he successfully demonstrated Taiwan’s standing and goodwill as a member of the international community. (E)