Preisdent Tsai Ing-wen (right) greets Kiribati Preisdent Taneti Maamau.

Taipei, May 23 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told her visiting Kiribati counterpart Taneti Maamau Monday during a meeting that she hopes the two countries will deepen their cooperative ties and that Maamau will more frequently visit Taiwanese firms to provide them with more business and investment opportunities in his country.

Tsai also expressed gratitude to Maamau, who was sworn in in March, for attending her May 20 inauguration ceremony at the head of a large delegation from his country.

Tsai noted that Maamau visited Taiwan in 2015 when he was a member of the Kiribati parliament, making him no stranger to Taiwan.

She said that in the past, the two countries have collaborated as strategic partners on more than 100 projects in the areas of medical and health care, agricultural and fishery technology, talent training and clean energy, and she expressed hope that the new government will deepen cooperative ties with Kiribati based on the existing foundation.

(By Sophia Yeh and Evelyn Kao)
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