Paraguay President Santiago Peña meets Tsai Ing-wen, wraps up Taiwan visit

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) Paraguayan President Santiago Peña held a meeting with former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), during which both sides renewed their friendship and the two countries' commitment to each other, as Peña wrapped up his first state visit to Taiwan.

In a social media post early Sunday, Peña said he met with Tsai, "a great friend of Paraguay," during his visit to Taiwan.

"Together we reviewed the extraordinary bilateral agenda that unites our two countries and all that we have built in these years of a solid and committed alliance," he wrote in a post on X.

He added that the friendship was exemplified by concrete cooperation projects and investments that have created opportunities for the Paraguayan people. Peña did not say when the meeting took place.

During her presidency, Tsai telephoned then-President-elect Peña in May 2023 after he won the presidential election. In July of the same year, Peña, then president-elect, visited Taiwan and met with Tsai at the Presidential Office.

Also on Sunday, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said he accompanied Peña to Southern Taiwan Science Park and the National Center for High-performance Computing in Tainan on Saturday so that Peña could gain a first-hand understanding of Taiwan's achievements in artificial intelligence, computing, and technology governance.

Lin also hosted Peña and his delegation for lunch at A SHA, a restaurant known for traditional Taiwanese cuisine in Tainan, before touring Chimei Museum, which is known for its extensive collections of Western paintings, sculptures, and musical instruments.

Peña and his delegation left Taiwan for the Philippines on Sunday afternoon for the next stop of their regional trip.

According to Taiwan's Presidential Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Peña, who arrived in Taiwan early Thursday, witnessed the signing of a treaty on mutual legal assistance on tackling crime, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cybersecurity cooperation, and an MOU on the Paraguay-Taiwan sovereign AI and computing infrastructure investment project.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) also conferred a decoration on Peña in recognition of the Paraguayan leader's strong support for Taiwan at numerous international forums.

Joining Peña was a delegation of more than 40 Paraguayan business representatives led by the country's Industry and Commerce Minister Marco Riquelme.

The delegation visited Taiwanese companies to explore business opportunities and strengthen the Taiwan-Paraguay supply chain, according to MOFA.