Lai Ching-te welcomed Pena with military honors at the presidential office in Taipei, including a ceremonial parade and cannon salute, before bilateral talks focused on political and economic cooperation.“Taiwan and Paraguay are partners firmly committed to the values of democracy, freedom and human rights,” Lai said during the ceremony, thanking Paraguay for supporting Taiwan’s participation on the international stage.

Pena reaffirmed Paraguay’s diplomatic backing for Taiwan, describing the relationship as a strategic alliance grounded in shared democratic principles.“Paraguay deeply values this relationship and reaffirms its commitment to continue supporting Taiwan,” Pena said.

Taiwan currently maintains formal diplomatic relations with only 12 countries after decades of pressure from China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes any official recognition of the island’s government.Beijing has steadily persuaded countries to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing through economic and political incentives, reducing Taiwan’s international footprint, particularly in Latin America and the Pacific.

Pena’s delegation includes senior government officials and business representatives, reflecting efforts to deepen trade, investment and technological cooperation between the two sides.

Since arriving on Thursday, Pena has met Taiwan’s vice president and cabinet officials and received an honorary doctorate from National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, which he described as a symbol of the countries’ “solid alliance.”The visit comes shortly after Lai returned from a diplomatic trip to Eswatini, Taiwan’s sole diplomatic ally in Africa.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry recently accused China of pressuring Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar to revoke overflight permissions for Lai’s original itinerary to Eswatini, forcing him to alter travel arrangements and use the aircraft of Eswatini’s king.

Lai’s administration has sought to strengthen ties with remaining diplomatic partners while expanding informal relations with Western democracies, particularly the United States and European countries.Taiwan’s last major overseas diplomatic tour took place in November 2024, when Lai visited Pacific allies and transited through Guam, a U.S. territory.

Reports last year suggested the administration of Donald Trump denied Lai permission to transit through New York during a planned Latin America trip, though Taiwan’s foreign ministry denied those claims.

All but 1,000 of the island’s 52,000 homes and businesses lost power, according to the Guam Power Authority, but government officials reported nothing unusual in hospital emergency rooms, and only moderate damage such as flooding, fallen debris and downed power lines.

“I am so glad we are safe. We have weathered this storm. The worst has gone by,” Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said in a video message.

Still, she warned people to stay home for their own safety until the government declared it was safe.

“It seems that roads are passable, but you should not be on the road,” Guerrero said after touring the island, a U.S. territory that is home to about 170,000 people, including about 10,000 U.S. military personnel.

Before landfall, she had compared the storm to 1962’s Typhoon Karen, which flattened much of the island.

The eye of Super Typhoon Mawar tracked just north of Guam early Thursday, moving northwest at a sluggish 8 mph, delivering rainfall of up to 2 inches (5 cm) per hour overnight, the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Images posted on social media showed ominous clouds drifting over beaches, rains lashing buildings and winds bending palm trees.

Wind speeds placed the storm in Category 4, the second-strongest designation on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind scale, and just short of Category 5.

People in Guam take typhoons seriously and typically hunker down in reinforced concrete structures, said Landon Aydlett, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Guam.

After the storm passed, Guam’s Office of Civil Defense issued a bulletin warning people that the highest stage of alert remained in effect.

“In addition to the tropical storm force winds, hazardous surf and seas remain. Remain out of the water due to life-threatening conditions,” the bulletin said.