Nicaraguan President Ortega reassures Taiwan of firm ties

Jul 4, 2007, 14:19 GMT

Taipei - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, dismissing rumours that Nicaragua is mulling switching diplomatic recognition to China, on Wednesday reassured Taiwan that Managua's ties with the self-governing island are solid, the Taiwan Presidential Office said.

Ortega gave the assurance to President Chen Shui-bian in a telephone conversation made Wednesday morning in Taipei, the office said in a statement.

Ortega told Chen that he firmly supported Nicaragua-Taiwan friendship and would attend the sixth Taiwan-Central American leaders' summit to be held August 23-25 in Honduras.

Ortega also thanked Taiwan for its aid to Nicaragua.

Chen thanked Ortega for his expression of support, saying he was moved by Nicaragua's maintaining friendship with Taiwan after neighbouring Costa Rica cut ties with Taipei to recognize Beijing in June.

Taiwan, seat of the exiled Republic of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, is currently recognized by only 24 mostly- small nations, half of them in Latin America.

While Taipei has no objection to dual recognition of China and Taiwan, Beijing insists that its allies drop all formal ties with what it regards as a renegade province.

After Costa Rica, an ally of Taiwan for 60 years, dropped Taipei on June 1, the Taiwan press warned that the move would have a domino effect on Taiwan's remaining Cental American allies, especially Nicaragua, Panama and St Lucia.

Taiwan's Vice President Annette Lu is currently visiting three Latin American countries - the Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Guatemala - to consolidate ties.