Taipei, March 16 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou will have a packed schedule on his first official trip to the South Pacific next week, during which he will discuss among other topics the impact of climate change, unveil a number of collaboration projects and promote Taiwan-made products.
Ma will visit six of Taiwan's diplomatic allies -- the Solomon Islands, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu -- from March 21-27.
His itinerary will include meetings with his counterparts on issues such as fishery cooperation, climate change, energy resource development and vocational training. All of these topics were tailored based on the needs of each country, said Foreign Minister Timothy C.T. Yang at a press conference.
In the Marshall Islands, the focus will be on providing medical services, especially cataract surgeries, while in Kiribati it will be on Taiwan's efforts to establish a fishery cultivation center there.
Taiwan will work with Tuvalu authorities on vocational training for fishermen, collaborate with Palau on indigenous cultural exchanges, set up an agricultural program in Nauru, and discuss with Solomon Islands officials prospects for the development of alternative energy there.
In addition, Yang said, President Ma will take the opportunity to promote Taiwan-made products.
To this end, the president will take mobile phones made by HTC, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of smartphones, as gifts for high-ranking officials of the six countries and promote solar cells made by Motech Industries, one of the top ten solar cell manufacturers in the world.
Acknowledging that the use of such devices might be limited in the six countries because of the lack of 3G mobile telecommunication infrastructure, Yang said that the idea is to promote Taiwanese products.
Those phones "can take good, high-resolution photos," he said.
Meanwhile, the MOFA has already shipped two Luxgen MPV cars -- Taiwan's first automobile brand made by the Yulon Group -- to Taiwan embassies in Kiribati and the Solomon Islands to replace older vehicles.
The idea is to replace older cars and at the same time display the Taiwan-made products to foreigners, Yang said. The ministry could do the same at all Taiwanese embassies abroad to promote Taiwan-made automobiles, he added.
"Diplomacy also includes the promotion of local products and trade opportunities," he stressed. In a departure from former President Chen Shui-bian's format of arranging a leaders' summit in one of the six South Pacific countries, Ma's will make separate state visits to all six nations, Yang noted.
President Ma wants to show his sincerity in deepening friendship and boosting cooperation with the allies, Yang said.
Ma and his 90-member entourage will make a one-hour transit stop March 22 in Guam on the outward leg of the trip and a 90-minute stop on their return, according to Yang.
The delegation will travel aboard a China Airlines 737-800 plane. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc