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Sticking points obstructing ties with Macedonia

"The heaviest task at present is attracting investors. Admittedly, it's an onerous job."

Peter Cheng, Taiwan's ambassador to Macedonia

Attracting investors to a largely Taiwan-funded export-processing zone in Macedonia has been a difficult task, Peter Cheng (鄭博久), Taiwan's ambassador to the country, told the Legislative Yuan yesterday.

"The heaviest task at present is attracting investors. Admittedly, it's an onerous job," Cheng told the legislature's Foreign Relations Committee.

In response to a question from KMT Legislator Kwan Yuk-noan (關沃暖), Cheng said that the language barrier, the long distance and the misconception that Macedonia has been troubled by violence more commonly associated with other Balkan states has led Taiwanese investors to "think twice" before investing in the country.

Jointly funded by the International Cooperation and Development Fund and the KMT-backed China Industrial Development Bank, the 183-hectare Bundardzik Free Economic Zone outside Skopje is the most high-profile project Taiwan has embarked upon so far in Macedonia.

The first Taiwanese firm is expected to move into the zone in January following the completion of factory buildings that same month, Cheng said.

Taiwan established ties with Macedonia in January last year, making the Balkan republic, with a population of 2.1 million, the only state in Europe other than the Vatican that officially recognizes Taipei.

Lawmakers urged Cheng to work hard to make the country a "gateway" to developing further ties in Europe.

"Others in the region are watching whether Taiwan performs well [in Macedonia]" in terms of substantial aid offered to the country, KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) told Cheng.

Meanwhile, the final step in normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries has remained paralyzed as Macedonia's President Boris Trajkovski still refuses to accept Cheng's diplomatic credentials.

But Cheng said Trajkovski has said he would consider accepting Cheng's credentials "at an appropriate time" after evaluating the overall benefits yielded by economic cooperation between Taiwan and Macedonia.

Trajkovski has deferred accepting Cheng's credentials since taking office in December of last year. Trajkovski's predecessor, Kiro Gligorov, had strongly opposed the move to establish formal ties with Taiwan and also refused to accept Cheng.

A high-ranking official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who refused to be named, yesterday accused Macedonia of foot-dragging in accepting Cheng's credentials. "It doesn't make any sense at all. This is an unprecedented case in the history of diplomatic protocol," the official said.

The country's defense minister, Ljuben Paunoski, on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral military cooperation with his Taiwanese counterpart in Taipei.
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