Paraguay affirms Taiwan as "firmest friend" (2nd Roundup)

Oct 8, 2007, 15:58 GMT

Taipei - Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos said Monday that his country will remain loyal to Taiwan and will not be bribed by any country.

'Paraguay and Taiwan have common goals and ideals,' Frutos told Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian in their first round of talks. 'Paraguay is a country which cannot be bribed in any form, and is Taiwan's firmest friend.'

Frutos arrived in Taipei Sunday to attend National Day celebrations and ask Taiwan to write off 71 million US dollars' worth of debt, part of a loan obtained from Taiwan by former president Luis Gonzales Macchi.

If Paraguay has to pay back the loan, Frutos said, the money would have to come from Paraguay's poor and from its social departments.

Macchi was sentenced to six years in jail on June 6, 2006 for attempting to embezzle 16 million US dollars of public funds.

Chen held a military ceremony with a 21-gun salute for Frutos early Monday.

Chen thanked Frutos for supporting Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations and said he hoped that Taiwan-Paraguay diplomatic ties, launched half a century ago, would remain firm.

'Paraguay is the furthest country from Taiwan, but we are the closest friends. There is zero distance between us,' Chen said.

Later in the day, Frutos received an honorary doctorate in politics from the Chinese Culture University in Taipei.

The university said it issued the doctorate to Frutos because he is both a scholar and a politician and has made great contribution to Paraguay-Taiwan friendship.

At a state banquet for Frutos on Monday evening, Chen promised to increase the import of Paraguay beef offer scholarships for 100 Paraguayan students to study in Taiwan each year after 2008.

'Paraguayan beef is very tasty. It is so popular in Taiwan that sometimes people have to queue up to buy it. The current quota for 440 tons of Paraguayan beef is too little. We will greatly increase the quota,' Chen said while offering a toast at the banquet.

During his stay in Taiwan, Frutos also plans to sign an anti- narcotics agreement with Taiwan.

Frutos is among a small group of foreign dignitaries attending Taiwan's October 10 National Day celebrations.

The Dominican Republic's Vice President Rafael Alburquerque de Castro and Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Samuel Santos are also scheduled to attend the celebrations.

Paraguay and the Dominican Republic are among the dwindling number of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, which now number 24.