A delegation from the central African nation of Chad yesterday arrived on an official visit to Taiwan to meet with government officials.
Chadian Minister of Public Security and Immigration Abderahman Moussa met with Taiwan's Interior Minister Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) to discuss domestic security issues. Moussa urged Taiwan to provide assistance to aid in Chad's public security.
"Taiwan and Chad resumed diplomatic ties on Aug. 12, 1997, after which time many cooperative projects have been conducted between the two countries," Su said in a welcome speech yesterday.
"Chad has shown its support for Taiwan's wish to participate in the community of nations, while Taiwan has sent medical and agricultural teams to Chad," he added.
Moussa noted during his meeting with Su that in light of international anti-terrorism efforts, he hoped Taiwan would be able to provide equipment and personnel training assistance in dealing with the nation's security woes.
In response, Su stated that that in order to strengthen relations, more cooperative efforts will be conducted between the two nations with regard to public security, customs and immigration issues.
After being debriefed on the nation's interior affairs, Moussa was reportedly impressed by Taiwan's efforts in cracking down on crime, drugs and achievements in the social welfare system.
Chad and Taiwan have a long history of on-again off-again diplomatic relations. In 1972, Chad broke ties with Taiwan when it established diplomatic ties with China. In 1994, Taiwan attempted to re-establish diplomatic ties with Chad, but the effort was blocked by China. In 1997, Taiwan finally re-established its diplomatic ties with Chad after China broke diplomatic ties with the small African nation.
Chad has a population of 9.5 million and is ethnically diverse, as there are twenty distinct groups found in the country. Fifty-one percent of Chad's population is Muslim, 35 percent Christian and 7 percent animist.
Chad's official languages include French and Arabic, and 120 different languages and dialects are spoken in the country.
According to an earlier report, in August this year, state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp's (CPC, 中油) plans to invest in an oil exploration project in Chad were put on hold because of pressure from China. The CPC had originally planned to sign a contract with the central African nation for the exploration of the petroleum-rich Lake Chad Basin this June, before the corporation announced that the deal was to be delayed.
The project had been reported to be the largest oil investment project in Taiwan's history, with a total investment of NT$5 billion.
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