Paraguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs Ruben Ramirez Lezcano yesterday arrived in Taiwan with other senior officials to sign a reciprocal visa-free agreement with Taiwan.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) met Ramirez at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at about 6:30am.
Ramirez told reporters at the airport that he was happy to revisit Taiwan to bolster bilateral ties and would convey Paraguayan President Santiago Pena’s greetings to President William Lai (賴清德).
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
He said that the Paraguayan government and its people support Taiwan and reaffirmed the 67-year-old diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in addition to meeting with Lai, Ramirez is scheduled to meet with National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), with whom he would ink a reciprocal visa-free agreement.
During his stay, which is to last through Saturday, Ramirez is to visit Longshan Temple (龍山寺) in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), Kavalan Distillery (金車噶瑪蘭酒廠) in Yilan County’s Yuanshan Township (員山) and the National Center for Traditional Arts in Yilan’s Wujie Township (五結).
Other members of Ramirez’s delegation include Fernando Fronciani, the director of protocol at Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ramirez’s publicist, Osmar Gomez Roman.
Paraguay is the only Republic of China (Taiwan) diplomatic ally in South America. Taiwan has 12 in total.
Ramirez has long supported Taiwan-Paraguay ties, Taiwan’s increased presence at international bodies, and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the foreign ministry said.
Pena and his administration have repeatedly written to international bodies to voice support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN General Assembly, the World Health Assembly, UN Climate Change Conferences and Interpol’s General Assembly, it said.
Paraguay also voiced support for Taiwan amid Chinese military exercises around Taiwan in October, it said, adding that Asuncion has backed Taiwan’s democratic government, its sovereignty and its advocacy of freedom.
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