Trade and innauguration on President Ma’s agenda

06-09-2009 | CNA

The Taiwanese president will be attending Martinelli’s inauguration

Panama Star High on Ma's itinerary this time around will be attending the inauguration of President-elect Ricardo Martinelli. The main event of his just-concluded trip was the inauguration of new El Salvador President Mauricio Funes.

Ma is scheduled to depart Taipei June 29 for Panama City via San Francisco. Following the Panama visit, he will proceed to Nicaragua and then Honduras for state visits before returning to Taipei July 7 via a transit stop in Hawaii.

Presidential Office sources said that although Ma canceled a plan to meet with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega while both of them were in San Salvador early this month to attend Funes' inauguration, Ma's plan to visit Nicaragua during his upcoming diplomatic tour remains unchanged.Ma's last Central America tour focused on promoting cultural exchanges, the official said the Panama-Nicaragua-Honduras trip will carry a theme of promoting trade and economic ties.

As many Taiwanese business groups have major investment projects in Panama, the official said, some prominent business executives such as Evergreen Marine Group Chairman Chang Jung-fa will accompany Ma on his trip.

Ma will also charter a plane from EVA Airways -- an Evergreen Marine Group affiliate -- to carry him and his entourage. First lady Chow Mei-ching will accompany him.