Construction of an electricity grid in Caribbean ally Haiti is expected to begin before the end of this year, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday.
The deal is now in the final stage as an on-site investigative team from Taiwan is making final checks in Haiti, Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Director-General Alexander Yui (俞大雷) told a media briefing in Taipei.
The government is also helping Haiti secure a US$150 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China, a government-funded bank that offers credit insurance for foreign investments originating in Taiwan, to pay for the project.
Photo: CNA
Once the deal is signed, the project would officially begin, Yui added.
The project is to be the responsibility of Taiwanese firm Overseas Engineering and Construction and could take about two years to complete, he said.
The deal is to help Haiti build new or upgrade existing electrical substations, electricity distribution networks and transmission towers, and help train people who would be responsible for maintaining the grid, the ministry said.
Once the deal is sealed, it would become the first project launched with an ally under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) program, which is designed to help nations develop their infrastructure while also getting business for Taiwanese contractors, the ministry said.
Commenting on the ODA program, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in May told a legislative session that strategic loans to diplomatic allies are designed to create “win-win-win situations” and do not represent a return to checkbook diplomacy to compete with China for those allies’ allegiance.
Taiwan is no match for Beijing and has no intention of competing with it in offering astronomical sums to lure allies, he said.
“We are not competing with China over allies with financial aid. We are genuinely offering them help,” he said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from