Premier Su hosts banquet for Palau President Whipps Jr.

2021/03/31

Premier Su Tseng-chang hosted a banquet for Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. March 29 in Taipei City, saying the visit by the West Pacific country’s president underscores the special ties between two allies.
 
The Palau president is the first head of state to visit Taiwan after the global outbreak of COVID-19 began in early 2020, reflecting the success of the two governments in containing the spread of the pandemic in their respective countries, Su said.
 
Based on the shared values of freedom, democracy and rule of law, Taiwan will continue cooperating with Palau in key areas such as agriculture, capacity building, clean energy and public health to assist the ally with its national development, he added.
 
Arriving in Taiwan earlier the same day, Whipps is leading a delegation, including U.S. Amb. to Palau John Hennessey-Niland, for a five-day visit.
 
According to Su, the Taiwan-Palau travel bubble, set to be launched April 1, will boost tourism and economic development for both countries. It also embodies their long-standing mutual trust since the two established their formal relationship in 1999, he said.
 
More importantly, the winning initiative is putting both countries in the global spotlight and demonstrates that effective governance and transparency are key to managing diseases and allowing people to return to their normal lives, the premier added.
 
Su also took the opportunity to thank Palau for speaking up for Taiwan at United Nations and World Health Organization meetings, among others. The staunch support of the ally is sincerely appreciated by the government and people, he said.
 
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Whipps Jr. will also meet President Tsai Ing-wen and MOFA Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu, as well as host an international press conference and attend tourism campaigns organized by the Palau Visitors Authority’s representative office in Taiwan.


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)