The Legislative Yuan

Press Release

April 25, 2023

His Excellency Sr. Dr. Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla, President of the Republic of Guatemala delivers a speech in the Legislative Yuan.

 You Si-kun: The visit of H.E. President Alejandro Giammattei of the Republic of Guatemala symbolizes mutual protection of democratic countries and testifies to the solid relations between Taiwan and Guatemala.

President You Si-kun and Mrs. You along with Vice President Tsai Chi-chang, Taiwan-Central and Southern Caribbean Countries Parliamentary Amity Association Chairman Chiu Chih-wei, party whips of four Legislative party caucuses,  Secretary General Lin Jih-jia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu and others welcomed President Alejandro Giammattei of the  Republic of Guatemala and his delegation to the Legislative Yuan on April 25, 2023.

Before entering the Chamber, President Alejandro Giammattei and Speaker Shirley Rivera of the Republic of Guatemala signed and left messages on the VIP books. President Alejandro Giammattei wrote: “I am honored to visit Taiwan’s congress. I want to reiterate my commitment to make joint efforts with free independent sovereign Taiwan.”  Speaker Shirley Rivera wrote: “It is my privilege to visit the Legislative Yuan to express our sincere gratitude to Taiwan’s friendship and support. Thank you, Taiwan. My best wishes to Taiwan. May God bless Taiwan. Please continue to support my country Guatemala.” Their messages testified to cordial bilateral relations.

As the Yuan sitting convenes, President You began by expressing his honor to invite Taiwan’s old friend to the Legislative Yuan. He sincerely welcomed the delegation. Participating legislators showed their warm welcome with a standing ovation.

President You continued to state that Guatemala is one of Taiwan’s most important allies. Both countries established diplomatic ties since 1930 with a relationship for nearly a century with shared values of democracy and freedom. Since Taiwan-Guatemala Free Trade Agreement entered into force in 2006, bilateral economic and trade relations had made tremendous progress. Even during the pandemic outbreak, Guatemala’s export to Taiwan continued to rise with high-quality products of seafood, coffee, and frozen avocados, which are very popular among Taiwanese consumers. In the post-pandemic era, both sides will continue to deepen cooperation to increase more well being.

President You expressed his respect to President Alejandro Giammattei  including visiting the frontline of Ukraine in person to support peace and condemn authoritarian aggression with actions. In addition, President You was touched by President Alejandro Giammattei’s support to assist Taiwan in its efforts to join international organizations by sending letters, by speaking up for Taiwan and by initiating proposals. In particular, President You wanted to thank his assistance to Taiwan in its efforts to join international organizations. In particular, President You wanted to thank and showed respect to President Alejandro Giammattei for his warm welcome to President Tsai when she visited Guatemala.

President You under the witness of legislators and distinguished guests conferred upon President Alejandro Giammattei with First-class Medal of Honor for Parliamentary Diplomacy, certificate, and a token of friendship in recognition of his contribution to Parliamentary diplomacy. In addition, a gavel symbolizing democracy was presented to Speaker Shirley Rivera to show the value of the spirit of democracy.

President You made an introduction for President Alejandro Giammattei’s speech by praising him for promoting global peace, and for being one of the most staunch supporters of Taiwan among the Central American leaders. President You pointed out that China took away Taiwan’s diplomatic allies with political threats and economic coercion. China showed its ambition toward the Central American and Caribbean region by even requesting Guatemala to be clear about the situation and make the right decision at an earliest date. President Alejandro Giammattei was not afraid of the threats and recognized President Tsai’s visit to Guatemala. His perseverance and courage is really touching. On behalf of the Legislative Yuan, he wanted to show his utmost respect to President Alejandro Giammattei. Then President You invited President Alejandro Giammattei to take the floor.

President Alejandro Giammattei started his remarks by thanking President You and expressed his honor to visit the Legislative Yuan. He conveyed his sincere greetings to all legislators at present and reiterated the people of Guatemala’s rock solid friendship to Taiwan. When he visited Taiwan in the capacity of presidential candidate in October 2019, he was clear about his position. He continued to state that this visit gave him the opportunity to underscore his attachment of great importance to relations with Taiwan. Since two countries established diplomatic relations in 1909, both sides continue to deepen relations, enjoy the old friendship and longstanding strategic partnership. Only solidarity can respond to turbulence and crisis that threaten current global peace and stability. He called upon the international community to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Taiwan. He also stressed that Guatemala upholds peace and requests to end hostility. War is the result of the ambition of authoritarianism. He continued to point out that Guatemala’s economy according to Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's, made tremendous progress. It would be more stable in the future. Taiwan and Guatemala will sign the MOU on production and Investment, promote various cooperation projects and conduct  business field trips. In addition, cooperation will be further promoted in areas, such as in infrastructure, agriculture, education  medicine, and ICT. He thanked Taiwan for everything. Guatemala’s stance will remain unchanged. Based on the UN principles of inclusiveness and universality, Guatemala recognizes the Republic of China (Taiwan) as an independent sovereign country, a genuine country. Guatemala supports Taiwan’s rights to participate in international organizations. He travelled from afar to reiterate that he wanted to honor his promise to provide staunch support to Taiwan, and defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He wanted this voice to be heard by every corner of the entire world, because it is about justice and rights. After his speech, President Alejandro Giammatte received a warm feedback by standing ovation for one minute.

President You thanked President Alejandro Giammattei for his wonderful speech. As global authoritarian regime continues to expand and the international democratic landscape has shrunk, only democratic countries work together to demonstrate the courage to show strong opposition against authoritarianism can the expansion be stopped to encroach free and democratic countries. President Alejandro Giammattei’s visit to Taiwan symbolized the mutual protection of democratic countries and a testament to deepening relations between Taiwan and Guatemala. He hoped that the delegation will covey the friendship and sincerity to the people of Guatemala to continue to deepen exchanges.

The visiting delegation of Guatemala left the Legislative Yuan at 11:30 a.m. as the entire Legislative Yuan bid farewell to it.

Note:

Major members of the delegation:

  1.Excmo. Sr. Dr. Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla

     Presidente de la República de Guatemala
   2.Excma. Sra. Shirley Joanna Rivera Zaldaña
      Presidente del Congreso de la República de Guatemala
   3.Excmo. Sr. Emb. Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores
      Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores
  4.Excmo. Sr. Edwin Oswaldo Martínez Cameros
     Ministro de Finanzas Públicas
  5.Excmo. Sr. Edgar René de León Moreno
     Ministro de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación
  6.Excmo. Sr. Janio Moacyr Rosales Alegría
     Ministro de Economía
  7.Excmo. Sr. Oscar Adolfo Padilla Lam
     Embajador de la República de Guatemala en la República de China (Taiwán)