Guatemalan president to meet Lai in June state visit

Guatemala City, May 26 (CNA) Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo will travel to Taiwan in June on a state visit, during which he will meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), he announced Monday.

At a press conference, Arévalo said the trip to Taiwan will be to "boost the friendly collaborative ties with the great country" and advance bilateral projects related to Guatemala's technology development.

He noted that a semiconductor delegation consisting of 30 Guatemalans from various sectors, cities and companies is currently visiting Taiwan and participating in a high-tech conference.

In addition, Arevalo said, Guatemala will host a conference in August to bring Taiwanese tech leaders and businesses and Guatemalan officials and companies together to advance bilateral cooperation and help Taiwanese high-tech businesses build presences in Guatemala.

Among those who will be part of the visiting delegation in the June trip to Taiwan will be Economy Minister Gabriela García-Quinn, Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez and First Lady Lucrecia Peinado, Arévalo said.

Lai invited Arévalo to visit Taiwan during a video conference following Arévalo's inauguration in January 2024, and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) extended the invitation again during a visit to Guatemala in October 2024.

Guatemala is one of 12 countries that maintains formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

(By Lee Teng-wen and Wu Kuan-hsien)

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