Foreign Minister Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) will meet today with his counterparts from four of Taiwan's Caribbean allies to discuss economic issues and the nation's annual bid to join the UN.
Tien is expected to sign a joint communique at the close of the two-hour meeting, in which Taiwan will pledge economic assistance in exchange for support for the country's participation in international organizations.
"We want to use this opportunity to discuss economic cooperation plans with our allies, and at the same time we hope our allies will assist us with increasing participation in international organizations," Tien said.
Reporters from the Commonwealth of Dominica asked Tien about a proposed US$5 million loan to help revive that country's ailing banana industry, but he couldn't provide any details.
Tien said no decisions had been reached with Commonwealth of Dominica representatives on the issue.
"The loan may only be in the range of US$2 million," Tien said.
Details of cooperation plans with other Caribbean nations were not disclosed.
The Caribbean delegations are lead by Roosevelt Douglas, prime minister and foreign minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica; Mark Issac, foreign minister of Grenada; Sam Condor, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis; and Allan Cruickshank, foreign minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
President Chen Shui-bian (
The diplomatic initiative is part of the new government's policy to improve the quality of relations with existing allies rather than focus on increasing the number of diplomatic allies.
The UN General Assembly will open on Sept. 5 with 188 member states in attendance.
Taiwan and Switzerland are the only two states in the world that do not belong to the international body. The Holy See and Switzerland are permanent observers to the UN, while Palestine has a standing invitation to undertake the status.
Taiwan has been excluded from participation in the UN since the international body adopted Resolution 2758 in 1971, which handed the seat to the PRC.
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