President Tsai Ing-wen will make a nine-day state visit to Paraguay and Belize next month, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Maria Liu announced at the Office of the President July 30 in Taipei City.
 
The trip to the South and Central American allies will be Tsai’s fifth abroad since taking office in May 2016, Liu said. Her delegation comprises top officials such as Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu and National Security Council Secretary-General David Tawei Lee, as well as lawmakers and business representatives, he added.
 
During Tsai’s stay in Paraguay Aug. 14-16, she is to attend the inauguration of newly elected President Mario Abdo Benitez, hold bilateral talks with visiting heads of states and meet outgoing President Horacio Cartes. Other activities include inspecting joint collaboration projects, meeting with Taiwan expatriate business representatives and technical mission staffers, and presiding over the plaque-unveiling ceremony of the construction site of a planned Taiwan-Paraguay industrial and technological university.
 
After touching down Aug. 16 in Belize, Tsai will hold talks with Governor-General Colville Norbert Young and Prime Minister Dean Oliver Barrow, receive a state honor and attend a national banquet and dinner function hosted by Barrow. She is also scheduled to address the Belize National Assembly, preside over an award ceremony for Taiwan Scholarship Program recipients, visit educational facilities and host an event for Taiwan expatriates before departing Aug. 18.
 
The president, who will stopover in Los Angeles and Houston on the outbound and inbound legs of her trip, respectively, will return Aug. 20 to Taiwan. (SFC-E)