In Rome airport, President Chen met President Ricardo Maduro of Honduras, a country with which the ROC has diplomatic relations. Maduro was also in Rome to attend the Pope's funeral. Because he was flying on to Japan to take part in the Inter-American Development Bank's annual meeting, President Chen invited him to fly with him to Taiwan.
陳總統在羅馬機場巧遇同樣參加教宗追思彌撒的友邦宏都拉斯總統馬度洛，由於馬度洛將赴日本參加中美洲開發銀行年會，在陳總統邀請下，兩位總統共同搭乘專機返台，馬度洛並在轉機時與陳總統握別。