Beijing, Apr 24 (EFE).- Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei arrived in Taiwan on Monday on a four-day official go to throughout which he’ll reaffirm his nation’s friendship with the island and ship “a message to the world about respect for the independence of countries.”
In a video recorded on the Taipei airport and posted on Twitter, the president referred to Taiwan as a “accomplice, ally and good friend, a fellow nation that fights for its sovereignty and freedom and which Guatemala accompanies with all its energy.”
Giammattei, who was acquired by Taiwanese Overseas Minister Joseph Wu, beforehand visited the island in 2019 as president-elect, though that is his first state go to, which takes place amid rising tensions within the Taiwan Strait separating China and the island.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen will obtain her Guatemalan counterpart with full army honors and a state banquet in his honor. She may even confer on him the Order of Sensible Jade with Grand Cordon, which is the very best order awarded by Taiwan and might solely be worn by the pinnacle of a nation.
In response to the Taiwanese presidency, Giammattei’s agenda may even embody a go to to the services of the electrical automobile producer RAC in Taichung and an occasion celebrating Guatemalan espresso tradition, amongst different actions.
He’s additionally scheduled to handle the Taiwanese parliament on Tuesday.
Giammattei is accompanied by the president of the Guatemalan Congress, Shirley Joanna Rivera, Overseas Minister Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores and the ministers of public finance, agriculture and finance.
Giammattei’s go to comes simply weeks after Ing-wen traveled to Guatemala as a part of a tour that additionally included a cease in Belize and two stops in america, drawing indignant protests from China.
Guatemala – which celebrated 62 years of ties with the island in November – and Belize are the one two remaining diplomatic companions of Taiwan in Central America after Honduras broke its ties with Taipei on Mar. 26 to determine them with China.
Honduras is the ninth nation – and the fifth Latin American nation – to chop ties with the island in favor of China since 2016, following within the footsteps of Panama, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, amongst others.
Following Tsai’s go to to Guatemala in early April, Chinese language international ministry spokesperson expressed hope that the Central American nation would “see the pattern of the world” and “make the precise selection.”
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, contemplating it a insurgent province since Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949 after dropping the civil battle towards the communists. EFE
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