Guatemala would fully support Taiwanese businesses that pursue investment opportunities in the Central American ally, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said during a meeting with a Taiwanese textile delegation recently. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taiwan Textile Federation led a delegation of seven Taiwanese textile businesses to visit Guatemala recently.
Arevalo met with the delegation recently, promising to fully assist Taiwanese investors on issues related to production, labor and administrative processes. The Guatemalan government values every investment Taiwanese businesses make and would strive to protect the rights of those companies with a convenient investment environment and transparent regulations, he said.
He also thanked Taiwan for fulfilling its promise to organize industrial delegations to the Central American country and expressed the hope that the countries would be able to achieve prosperity and economic growth through industrial cooperation and investment.
Federation chairman James Kuo and Apparel and Textile Association of Guatemala president Carlos Arias signed a memorandum of understanding on expanding bilateral trade and investment in the textile industry, the embassy in Guatemala said.
Guatemalan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Julio Orozco thanked Taiwan for showing confidence in the investment environment in Guatemala through concrete actions, adding that its government would provide total support to Taiwanese businesses, it said.
Taiwan’s textile industry boasts innovative technology and high-quality manufacturing, which would benefit from Guatemala’s proximity to the US market, Ambassador to Guatemala Miguel Tsao said. The visit is part of a ministry effort under a new program launched this year to deepen global industrial partnerships by cooperating with domestic professional associations to organize investment inspection tours and investment briefings, the ministry said. The program aims to diversify the nation’s connections to international strategic partners, bolster its position in global and regional supply chains, and advance its foreign aid efforts, it said. The program would not only expand the market for domestic businesses, but also foster closer ties between Taiwan and foreign countries, it added.
Combining Guatemala’s status as a ratifier of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement — an agreement between the US and six Central American countries — and Taiwan’s strengths in the textile industry, the cooperation could lead to a mutually beneficial and complementary industrial model, it said. The delegation was comprised of representatives of Lealea Enterprise Co, Makalot Industrial Co, Zig Sheng Industrial Co) Tainan Spinning Co, Lovetex Industrial Corp, Texma International Co and Evertex Fabrinology Ltd, it said. The delegation also met with Guatemalan Minister of Economy Gabriela Garcia-Quinn and Guatemalan Vice Minister of Investment and Competition Antonio Romero, it said.
