Minister Barán (left) presents traditional Paraguayan spider lace (ñandutí) to Minister Lin (right).

On behalf of the government of Taiwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a luncheon on January 27 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to warmly welcome Paraguayan Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare María Teresa Barán and Director General of International Relations Adriana Amarilla.

Minister Lin began by welcoming Minister Barán back to Taiwan. He recalled that when he led a delegation to Paraguay in July 2025, he and Minister Barán witnessed a number of Taiwan-Paraguay joint health care cooperation projects, including a health information system under the Health Information Management Efficiency Enhancement Project—built by Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) and Cathay General Hospital—and the General Hospital of Asunción construction project. Minister Lin pointed out that these initiatives had received strong support and recognition from Paraguayan President Santiago Peña.

Noting that Minister Barán had long been a staunch advocate for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly, he sincerely thanked her on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan. He stated that he looked forward to steadily deepening bilateral cooperation and bringing smart medicine and health industries to Paraguay for the benefit of local people and the advancement of industrial upgrading and transformation.

Minister Lin (fifth right) poses for a photo with Minister Barán (fifth left), Director General Amarilla (fourth left), and other guests.

Minister Barán expressed appreciation to Taiwan for assistance with the health information system project, which was launched in 2017 and had been implemented in 1,188 health care facilities in Paraguay, marking an important milestone in Taiwan-Paraguay health care cooperation. She also expressed hope that the General Hospital of Asunción, once operational, would become the new benchmark for quality health care services in Paraguay. Minister Barán underscored that Taiwan had played an indispensable role in the history of health care development in Paraguay and that it was a key contributor to the global public health system. She reiterated that Paraguay would continue to staunchly speak up for Taiwan and back its participation in the international community.

At the invitation of Minister Lin, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi, Superintendent of Cathay General Hospital Chien Chih-cheng, Deputy Secretary General of TaiwanICDF Stephen J. H. Lee, and representatives from Taiwan’s smart medicine and health care industries were also present at the event. They exchanged views with the delegation on a broad range of issues, including AI-driven medical data analytics and telemedicine, and discussed future directions for linking the health care industries of the two countries.

The members of the delegation are visiting from January 26 to 30, during which time they hope to further their understanding of the latest developments in public health, medicine, and social welfare in Taiwan. In addition to calling at MOFA, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, TaiwanICDF, and other organizations, the delegation will tour the facilities of National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, E-Da Hospital, Taipei Zhongshan Seniors Housing and Service Center, and Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, opening a new chapter in health care exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and Paraguay. (E)