Friendly Diplomacy, the Fruitful Journey of Senegal / 塞內加爾 親善外交豐富之旅
The Mayor of Kaohsiung City, Frank Chang-ting Hsieh, on behalf of President Chen Shui-Bian attended the 52nd annual Liberal International Conference on October 20th. The conference was held in the West African state of Senegal, afterwards he met with the Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade, and was keen to promote Taiwan's democratic achievements.
Mayor Hsieh stayed on in Daka, the Senegal capital, until October 25th, where he represented President Chen in a visit to the Taiwanese Embassy in Senegal. He also met with Taiwanese agricultural technicians to express appreciation for enhancing the substantive bilateral relations between Taiwan and Senegal.
In addition, Mayor Hsieh led a delegation, accompanied by the officials of Kaohsiung City Government, and signed up to an agreement on fishery cooperation. Represented by Ko Tsung-Ting, Director-General of the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau between Kaohsiung Chichin Port and Senegal Daka Port. Moreover, Mayor Hsieh invited the famous Senegal National Dancing Group to perform at Kaohsiung International Container Arts Festival, and this proposal has been sanctioned by President Wade.
The Liberal International Conference is attended by more than 80 democratic parties in 63 countries around the world. This is also the first time that Taiwan has formally attended this international conference as a member of the union. Senegal President Wade, one of three active African leaders, has emphasized to Mayor Hsieh that he is in support of Taiwan to join the United Nations and also wishes to stimulate the relationship among Taiwan and other international organizations.
Mayor Hsieh, on behalf of President Chen Shui-Bian, invited members from the Liberal International Conference to attend the meeting, which will be hosted in Asia next March. Mayor Hsieh also invited the members to visit Kaohsiung, the significant industrial and business center with a richness of culture.
Apart from establishing a friendly diplomacy, Mayor Hsieh also witnessed the agreement of fishery cooperation that is signed once every two years between Kaohsiung Chichin Port and Senegal Daka Port. Due to the geographic similarities, Senegal Daka Port is able to function as a fishing base for Taiwanese fishing boats. This saves great expense in terms of both time and finance for the Taiwanese fleet, as they can use Daka as an alternative to Cape Town Port in South Africa. The agreement is to ensure that the benefits of the agreement are equally mutually beneficial, and support interaction within the various fishing regions.
高雄市長謝長廷，十月二十日以陳水扁總統「特使」身分，前往非洲塞內加爾出席國際自由聯盟第五十二屆大會﹔會中與該聯盟歐非國家會員代表有密切接觸，會後並會晤了塞國總統瓦德。
謝長廷於十月二十三日至二十五日停留塞國首都達卡期間，也代表陳水扁總統，拜會台灣駐塞國大使館及農耕技術團成員，慰勉並感謝這些外交尖兵促進台灣與塞內加爾兩國邦交的努力與成就。
同時，謝長廷所率的市政府訪問團，由港務局長柯宗廷代表，與塞國達卡港簽定與我前鎮漁港漁業合作協定﹔而在謝市長當面向瓦德總統提出邀請塞國國家舞蹈團參加今年國際貨櫃藝術節表演的機會，獲得瓦德總統的同意。
「國際自由聯盟」(Liberal International)由全球六十三個國家、八十多個自由民主政黨所組成，這次是台灣首次以正式會員身分與會，由謝長廷代表陳水扁總統出席，塞國總統瓦德也在會後特別會見謝長廷及代表團，表達對台塞邦交情誼的重視﹔瓦德為非洲三大領袖之一，會晤中，他一再向謝長廷表達支持台灣加入聯合國的立場及活躍於世界舞台的立場。
謝長廷也代表陳水扁總統邀請國際自由聯盟會員，明年三月到台灣參加聯盟亞洲大會，同時也以高雄市長身分邀請代表們參與會議時，也到高雄這座台灣工商業重鎮，同時有深厚文化基礎的美麗海洋城市拜訪。
除為台灣外交扮演重要角色外，謝長廷此行也見證市政府前鎮漁港與姊妹港塞國達卡港簽署兩年一次的漁業合作協定﹔由於塞國達卡港與前鎮港地理條件及功能相似，更是高雄遠洋漁船在大西洋作業的重要補給、整備基地，我遠洋漁船可以不必遠赴南非開普敦港整補，節省成本，此協定確立雙方在平等互惠互利基礎下，支持不同領域的漁業交流原則。