Taiwan and Paraguay have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) worth US$150 million, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday.
After months of negotiations, the MOU was signed in the South American diplomatic ally’s capital, Asuncion, on Dec. 14, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
Lee said the deal focuses on projects related to humanitarian and social aid, education, housing and infrastructure that can meet the Paraguayan government’s expectations and benefit its people.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“Taiwanese and Paraguayan firms will enjoy priority when bidding on contracts for the projects, which have to use products from Taiwanese brands, creating a win-win situation,” Lee said.
The two nations’ intent to sign the MOU was unveiled by Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez, who after a state visit to Taiwan in October last year said on Twitter that Taiwan had agreed to invest US$150 million in his nation to boost economic, infrastructure and education development.
Taiwan was the first nation Abdo Benitez visited after he was inaugurated in August last year at a ceremony attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Lee said, adding that at the UN General Assembly in New York in September last year Paraguay spoke out for Taiwan’s bid to join the body.
After taking office, Abdo Benitez expressed the hope that in addition to an existing project to build 4,500 homes in 39 communities in 16 Paraguayan provinces, Taiwan could also assist with the promotion of education, social welfare and medical services, Lee said.
Taiwan and Paraguay in August last year jointly established the Taiwan-Paraguay Polytechnic University (Universidad Politecnica Taiwan-Paraguay) in the South American nation, with funds for construction provided by Asuncion, while teachers, curriculums and lab equipment are to be provided by the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS