Secretariat, Taipei City Government

At 10:00 on January 7, 2021, the External Affairs team of the Taipei City Government led by Ambassador Tom Chou visited the Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala to exchange opinions with Ambassador Willy Alberto Gómez Tirado and his key supervisors for economics, trades, investments, and cultural exchanges.
 
Ambassador Tirado stated that recently he had received phone calls from many Guatemalan companies based in China expressing their intentions to move their production bases to Taiwan. Three major Guatemalan coffee companies have decided to invest in Taiwan and have expressed their hope that the Taipei City Government could offer assistance. The Guatemalan coffee, which is renowned internationally, currently constitutes 15% of the market share in Taiwan, with a business strategy emphasizing high quality and high unit prices.
 
This year on September 15 will be the 200^th anniversary of Central American independence. The Guatemalan embassy will host a major celebration with the other Central American embassies in Taipei. A series of cultural performance will be presented in the event for Taiwanese people to learn more about Guatemala and other Central American countries.
 
According to Amb. Chou, the Taipei City Government will fully support Guatemalan companies investing in Taiwan. The Taipei City Government will also endeavor to promote an International Showcase project, through which appropriate sites will be provided to host the aforementioned cultural performance events together with the Embassy of Guatemala.
 
Guatemala’s territory is around 109,000 km² with a population of 17 million. Agriculture, industry, and tourism are its primary economic activities. Tikal, the largest Mayan cultural site in the world, was listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1979. Guatemala means “place with lots of trees” in Spanish.