Government will keep working with Fiji, MOFA insists

Taiwan continue to work to enhance relations with Fiji after close bilateral cooperation of more than a decade, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.

According to ministry spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍), the assistance provided by the Fiji government in arranging a transit stop in the South Pacific nation for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) helped Taiwan's participation in international affairs.

Lu he would not call this a "diplomatic breakthrough" but "something we deserve," and he urged the international community to pay attention to the unfair treatment that Taiwan has been receiving internationally.

Lu that Taiwan has maintained close cooperation with Fiji for more than a decade to help the country train its agricultural workers and provide it with agricultural technology.

The government will continue to enhance its relations with Fiji by encouraging Taiwan's business sector to invest in the country and to pitch for more Taiwanese people to travel there, Lu said.

Despite absence of formal diplomatic ties, Taiwan has maintained close ties with Fiji. The two countries signed an agreement in 1996 on exchanging diplomatic recognition, a step short from establishing diplomatic ties.