Ortega apologizes

In a goodwill gesture, Ortega visited Ma at the hotel on Saturday morning to apologize for his absence at a state banquet for Ma that he was supposed to host a day earlier.

He also drove Ma to several activities, including a luncheon in honor of Taiwanese expatriates in Nicaragua and a site dedication ceremony for a product display center on the same day.

Ortega's absence fueled growing media speculation of possible tensions between Nicaragua and Taiwan.

In apologizing to Ma, the Nicaraguan president explained that he was unable to attend the state banquet mainly because he was tied up with intensive discussion with Honduran President Manuel Zelaya all night about the situation in Honduras, which Ortega said could have consequences for the region, especially for Nicaragua.

Zelaya was ousted in a military coup June 28 when troops arrested him and sent him into exile in Costa Rica.

Ortega said the two spoke all night about the situation before he saw Zelaya off Saturday to Washington D.C., with Zelaya able to attend an emergency meeting over the Honduran coup held by the Organization of American States.

He also openly explained to Taiwanese expatriates at the luncheon about his absence and expressed his recognition of the diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Nicaragua.

He praised Taiwanese expatriates' contributions to the development of his country. Not until Ma's chartered plane took off did Ortega leave the airport in the capital city of Managua. Ma and his entourage arrived in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua July 3 for a two-day visit — the second leg of his two-country Central American tour after Panama.

He is scheduled to return to Taiwan July 6 after a transit stay in Hawaii.

On Friday, Ortega also personally drove Ma to Masatepe, a small town near Managua, where he showed Ma the results of a red bean growth and processing project that is being operated jointly by a Taiwanese technical delegation and local authorities in line with the country's anti-poverty program.

Accepting Ortega's apology and explanation, Ma said that Taiwan will continue to strengthen its cooperation with Nicaragua. Ma promised to study the feasibility of providing assistance for establishing the product display center.

The US$3.7 million center will be completed in a year and will house 1,500 exhibition booths, 60 fast food vendors, a 3,000-seat outdoor performance venue and a 400-space parking lot.

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