Lai thanks Guatemala, U.S. for support, looks to enhance economic ties

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has thanked Guatemala and the United States for their support of Taiwan and said he looked forward to seeing enhanced trilateral trade ties.

In a social media post on Thursday, Lai thanked Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for "expressing firm support for the relationship shared by Taiwan, Guatemala, and the U.S."

"Our continued joint efforts to bolster trade and investment pave the way for greater prosperity and stronger economic ties," Lai said.

The comments came shortly after Rubio visited the Central American nation and met with Arévalo.

In response to a reporter's question on Wednesday (Guatemala City time), Arévalo, who assumed the role of Guatemalan president in January 2024, reaffirmed his administration's commitment to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

"We maintain our diplomatic relationship with Taiwan and we hope to be able to ... further develop it in terms of economics and investment," the Guatemalan leader said at a joint news conference with Rubio following their meeting.

Guatemala is one of 12 countries maintaining formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name.

Meanwhile, Rubio said the U.S. was dedicated to helping expand bilateral ties between Taiwan and Guatemala "beyond just the diplomatic realm to an economic one."

"We'll do all we can to facilitate more Taiwanese investment in the economy of Guatemala so that it can continue to grow into the advanced, prosperous [and] 21st-century economy," he added.

Rubio's visit to Guatemala is part of his first Latin American tour after he took the role of top U.S. diplomat on Jan. 25.

The tour from Feb. 1 to Thursday (Washington time) also included stops in Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.