Taiwan and Libya will improve bilateral economic exchanges by setting up trade offices and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) may accept an invitation to visit the north African state in near future, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Chen yesterday met with the chairman of the Qaddafi Foundation, Saif Qaddafi, the third eldest son of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
Chen said that the visit of Saif Qaddafi to Taiwan as the envoy of the nation's leader was an historic occasion.
PHOTO: JEROME FAVRE, AP
Accepting an invitation from Muammar Qaddafi to visit Libya in the future, Chen asked Saif Qaddafi to pass on an invitation to his father, asking him to visit Taiwan.
"Both sides have agreed to set up offices in a bid to promote exchanges in diverse areas such as trade, tourism, aviation, education, culture, military affairs and security issues," Chen said.
Saif Qaddafi said that the delegates accompanying him on this trip are especially interested in promoting exchanges in the fields of oil exploitation, technology, trade, security and military affairs.
"I hope Taiwan and Libya can work together to play an important role in Africa to help people there and also to build good partnerships with other African countries," Saif Qaddafi said.
Officials at the Presidential Office attributed Taiwan's recent good relationship with Libya to the long-term efforts of the National Security Council. Officials stressed that it is important for Taiwan to build good relations with oil-producing countries in both Africa and the Middle East.
According to Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General James Huang (黃志芳), Libya has managed to normalize its relations with the US since the Sept. 11 attacks by helping to combat global terrorism.
"Libya is one of a handful of countries in Africa with large fuel reserves. Good relations are crucial to us. Besides, Libya has expressed a lot of interest in Taiwan's development experience, especially in the areas of science parks and information technology," Huang said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said yesterday that Libya is an important oil-exporting country, and therefore strategically important to Taiwan.
Libya is very keen on further pursuing mutual cooperation with Taiwan on petroleum and high-tech industries, he said.
Taiwan had diplomatic relations with Libya from 1959 to 1978. Taiwan maintained a trade office there from 1980 to 1997 after Libya switched its diplomatic recognition to China. The office was closed in 1997 due to pressure from China.
Additional reporting by Chang Yun-ping
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development” seminar in Taipei yesterday. In the speech, titled “Investing Together and a Secure and Prosperous Future,” Greene highlighted the contributions of US President Donald Trump’s administration to Taiwan’s defense efforts, including the establishment of supply chains for drones and autonomous systems, offers of security assistance and the expansion of
RSS