Guatemalan President, Alejandro Giammatteiconfirmed this Friday that he will travel to Taiwan from April 24 to 26 amid the tension between the island and the People’s Republic of China.
The visit is to support “Taiwan’s sovereignty” and “strengthen 86 years of diplomatic relations,” said a press release released by the Guatemalan presidency this Friday.
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Chairwoman @iingwenOn behalf of the people of Guatemala, I thank you for your visit, for all these expressions of unalterable friendship, and for the cooperation you offer our nation.
God bless the Republic of China (Taiwan)!
Have a good trip👏🏼#VisitaTaiwanGT
🇬🇹🇹🇼 pic.twitter.com/1mrwjpos17— Alejandro Giammattei (@DrGiammattei) April 2, 2023
President Giammattei will begin his two-day visit with a speech at the seat of Taiwan’s legislature and will receive an honorary medal from Congress President You Si-kun, the same source said.
In addition, Giammattei will participate in a Guatemalan coffee exhibition as part of the investment exchanges between the two countries.
Last March, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited Guatemala and Belize, the last two Central American nations that have not entered into diplomatic relations with China.
The Guatemalan president’s visit to the island will be a few days after the Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, warned that “Those who play with fire in Taiwan will eventually get burned.”
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which it views as a rogue province since Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949 after losing the civil war against the communists.
