The Office of the Prime Minister confirmed today that Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, is scheduled to make a formal state visit to Belize two weeks from now.
Ma is slated to arrive in the country on Wednesday, May 27, and depart on Friday, May 29, making subsequent stops in Guatemala and El Salvador, where he intends to witness the inauguration of Salvador’s president-elect, Mauricio Funes, slated for June 1.
Ma rose to power a year ago, and this is his first official visit to Belize.
The last time a president of Taiwan visited Belize was in 2004, when then president Chen Shui-bian was conferred the Order of Belize by then Prime Minister Said Musa. Chen conversely presented Musa with Taiwan’s Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon.
CEO in the Office of the Prime Minister, Audrey Wallace, informed Amandala that Belize and Taiwan’s political leaders will also be exchanging top national honors on the occasion of the official visit.
On Thursday, May 28, the National Assembly holds a ceremonial sitting to welcome Ma to Belize.
He is also scheduled to hold private meetings with Prime Minister Dean Barrow and pay a courtesy call on Governor-General, Sir Colville Young.
That same day, Ma is to lead the groundbreaking of the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Center in Belmopan, funded by the Government of Taiwan.
The visit, Wallace said, will mark the 20th year of diplomatic relations between Belize and Taiwan.
Belize has been an ally of Taiwan since 1989, an era that marked an end of diplomatic relations with mainland China, due to a political rift between the two disputing territories.
Belize will be the first stop on President Ma’s upcoming Central American tour, which is slated to end on June 4.
Taiwan press reports indicated that Ma was originally scheduled to go to Honduras instead of coming to Belize, but those reports say that he has rescheduled that visit to Honduras for July.