On the last day of her official visit to Guatemala, the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, and the host president Alejandro Giammattei on Sunday reaffirmed their close diplomatic and cooperation ties after touring a hospital built with the support of Taipei in an area poor of the country
It was a three-day visit by the Taiwanese leader shortly after Honduras announced it was breaking ties with Taipei and would intensify its exchange with Beijing, which considers Taiwan a rogue province and advocates one China.
Guatemala and Belize are Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic partners in Central America.
Giammattei once again thanked the economic support of Taiwan, with which Guatemala, he said, has an “unchangeable” friendship. He also took the opportunity to reiterate to Tsai that he would maintain his support for the recognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
After visiting the archaeological site of Tikal, one of the most important urban centers of the Mayan civilization, Tsai and Giammattei toured the Chimaltenango National Hospital in the center of the country, which was built with the support of Taiwan.
The construction of this hospital, which lasted 21 months, would have cost about 22 million dollars, it has three intensive care areas, three emergency rooms, a neonatal room and a capacity of 300 beds.
The Guatemalan government said that residents of four departments of the country will be treated there.
The Minister of Health, Francisco Coma, said that with the support of Taipei “thousands of Guatemalans are cared for with quality and innocence” at the new hospital, which opened in February. He added that at least two other hospitals also received support from Taiwan for remodeling and care work.
Tsai said she was pleased with the construction of the hospital, which, according to her, “will be able to provide better medical care and service.”
He stressed that the last years of the coronavirus pandemic allowed the world to have a greater awareness of the importance of the health and medical system for citizens.
“We are sure that the hospital will become an important guardian of the health of Guatemalans,” he stressed.
The new hospital has also been the subject of controversy, after the Prosecutor’s Office announced two weeks ago an investigation into an alleged fraud of almost 10 million dollars in the purchase of equipment for the operation of the center.
The prosecution points against the former Vice Minister of Health, Gerardo Hernández, in a case in which the purchase of new equipment for the hospital was authorized. According to the investigation, the former official, in collusion with a company and the director of the medical center, would have equipped the new hospital with used furniture.
After finishing her visit to Guatemala, President Tsai will travel to Belize, her other partner in Central America.
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