President Tsai Ing-wen has arrived in the allied Caribbean nation of St. Lucia.

After her arrival Wednesday, Tsai traveled to the south of the country to witness the groundbreaking ceremony for a hospital being rebuilt with a Taiwanese loan.

The St. Jude hospital was an important source of medical care for residents of southern St. Lucia before it was destroyed by a fire in 2009.

During remarks at the groundbreaking, Tsai said that under the leadership of St. Lucia’s current prime minister, bilateral cooperation projects have been moving ahead. She said that exchanges in the medical field have been especially frequent and intensive.

Tsai also said that the hospital’s reconstruction will not only greatly improve access to medical care in southern St. Lucia but will also help St. Lucia implement the UN’s sustainable development goal of ensuring health and welfare.