Taipei, July 14 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen told guests from Tuvalu on Friday that their country and Taiwan can work together on climate change issues, and she hoped Tuvalu will continue to support Taiwan's bid to attend United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings.

During a meeting with a visiting delegation led by Otinielu Tauteleimalae Tausi, speaker of Tuvalu's Parliament, at the Presidential Office, Tsai called Tuvalu one of Taiwan's most faithful friends.

"The two countries have maintained diplomatic links for over 38 years, and interactions between them have been very close," Tsai said, and she expressed Taiwan's gratitude for the ally's support on international occasions.

She also thanked Tuvalu for speaking on Taiwan's behalf at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva in May, after Taipei was not invited to attend the annual meeting as an observer because of China's opposition.

Tsai called the exclusion unfair treatment of Taiwan.

During the meeting, Tsai expressed her hope that Tuvalu can continue to support Taiwan in its UNFCCC bid.

"With Taiwan and Tuvalu both being oceanic countries that face global warming challenges, we look forward to Tuvalu continuing to support Taiwan in its bid to participate in the UNFCCC so that the two countries can work together to contribute to the world's sustainable development," Tsai said.

The president also said cooperation between Taiwan and Tuvalu over the past decades has been very successful in several areas, including agriculture, human resource development, clean energy resources, health care and culture.

Tausi, a veteran politician in the South Pacific island nation, was invited by Taiwan's government to pay a visit to Taiwan from July 11-16.