President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Her Excellency Dr. Tsai Ing-wen said that Taiwan and St. Kitts and Nevis have maintained consistent mutual support over the years and continue to achieve excellent results through wide-ranging bilateral collaboration.
President Tsai’s commendation came in an address to welcome St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew on his inaugural State Visit to Taiwan on the morning of November 8, 2022, at the main plaza and lobby of the National Theatre and Concert Hall of the National Performing Arts Center after a 19-gun salute and the playing of the two countries national anthems.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Drew today with military honours as he leads a delegation on a state visit to Taiwan. On behalf of the people and government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I extend my sincerest welcome to all of our distinguished guests,” President Tsai said.
She continued, “St. Christopher and Nevis is an important ally of Taiwan in the Caribbean. This is Prime Minister Drew’s first visit to a diplomatic ally since he took office three months ago, reflecting his high regard to the bond between our two nations.”
She highlighted the long-standing relationship between the two countries, one in the West and the other in the East.
“Since establishing diplomatic relations 39 years ago, our countries have supported each other through the good times and the bad. And we continue to strengthen collaboration across the board, achieving fruitful results. I look forward to our countries addressing issues of mutual concern and engaging in an in-depth exchange of opinions during this visit to further expand our cooperation,” President Tsai said. “In particular, we believe that Taiwan has highly valuable experiences to share in the fields of medicine and health insurance, both of which Prime Minister Drew has expressed an interest in.”
Prime Minister Dr. Drew in response said, “My delegation and I are profoundly grateful to you and the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) not only for your warm hospitality but also for the excellent arrangements put in place for the duration of this momentous state visit.”
“This state visit to the Republic of China (Taiwan) is significant in more ways than one. It strengthens the solid platform built for well over three decades, which allows us to implement projects under the broad rubric of functional cooperation. It also places us at the threshold of a new era of enhanced partnership where we consider creative solutions to the challenges which threaten to prevent us from achieving our development objectives,” St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister said.
The 4-day state visit of President Dr. Drew and his delegation came to an end on Thursday, November 10 with a visit to Taipei Veterans General Hospital and International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF).