Premier Su serves as President Chen's envoy at inauguration of Gambian president

A delegation led by Premier Su Tseng-chang to The Gambia arrived in the Gambian capital of Banjul on Thursday evening Taipei time. The premier will be President Chen Shui-bian's envoy in participating in the inauguration of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. The premier and his wife, Chan Hsiu-ling, are leading the delegation, which includes Agriculture Minister Su Jia-chyuan, Government Information Office Minister Cheng Wen-tsang, Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mou and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yang Tzu-Pao. Upon their arrival, the delegation was greeted at the airport by Isatou Njie Saidy, the Vice President of The Gambia, and received full military honors.

The full military honors provided to the delegation were held as the national anthems of the two countries were played. Premier Su and his wife were accompanied by Vice President Saidy to review the troops. Premier Su also shook hands with a number of Taiwanese overseas compatriots on hand who were invited to take part in the ceremony by the government of The Gambia. After the ceremonies, Premier Su paid a visit to see a number of singing and dancing performances.

The delegation left Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on the evening of December 13. After a journey of 25 hours, the plane carrying the delegation arrived in the capital of Banjul on Thursday afternoon Gambian time. After Premier Su received a salute and military honors upon arrival, he made a visit to the ROC embassy in The Gambia. In the evening, he attended a state dinner held by Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh.

On his visit to the ROC's embassy in The Gambia, Premier Su received a briefing by ambassador Patrick Peichi Chang on Taiwan's diplomatic work in that nation. He also received a briefing by the chief of the Taiwan Technical Mission to the country, Tsai Chun-hsiung. In a gesture to assist in The Gambia in carrying out medical and health-related work, Taiwan's Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mou donated US$35,000 at the embassy for AIDS prevention programs carried out by the government of The Gambia. The Gambian Secretary of State for Health & Social Welfare, Tamsir Mbowe accepted the gift on behalf of his government.

Premier Su toured the embassy and expressed his encouragement to all the workers at the embassy. He also saluted the efforts and accomplishments made by Taiwanese stationed in The Gambia. Premier Su added that while it took the delegation 25 hours to reach Banjul, he said that seeing the warmth and friendly faces of the people welcoming the delegation proved that The Gambia is dubbed "the Smiling Coast of Africa" for good reason.

Premier Su stressed that Taiwan in the past was poor and accepted assistance from the international community. Now, however, given the state of technological development in the world and convenient transportation, the world has indeed become a global village. He said Taiwan now has the ability to help friendly and allied countries, and make a contribution to the international community. He said that based on Taiwan's GDP, Taiwan's foreign assistance efforts may not stand out among other countries. However, he noted that Taiwan's foreign aid work is directed at helping other countries and fulfilling its responsibility to the international society. He said Taiwan rejects any allegations that it takes part in money diplomacy.

The premier praised Taiwan officials and agencies stationed in The Gambia for bringing the Taiwan experience as well as the warmth and sincerity of Taiwan to the country. He said that Taiwan's assistance in the areas of medicine and health, agricultural development, infrastructure development and irrigation projects have made a deep impression on the people of The Gambia. He urged the Taiwanese delegation to continue to carry out its work, enabling Taiwan to develop friendships throughout the world and to help Taiwan stand up and make a name for itself in the world community.

In his briefing to Premier Su, Ambassador Chang said that after the ROC and The Gambia resumed diplomatic relations in 1995, the Taiwanese government immediately began providing assistance to development in the African nation. He said the two countries signed a cooperative protocol, including cooperative relationships in the area of agricultural technology and medicine and health. Of this, Taiwanese agricultural technology assistance to The Gambia is one of the key areas of cooperation, with the focus presently being on paddy rice production and vegetables. Ambassador Chang said Taiwan's Technical Mission has taken advantage of the Atlantic tides, which causes water to rise up to 80-100 centimeters a day, to create tidal rice paddies. Presently, the Taiwanese team has provided assistance in developing 968 hectares of these paddies, garnering a large amount of attention from the people and government of The Gambia.