Taiwan will take part in the post-forum dialogue of the 36th Pacific Island Forum (PIF) set for Oct. 25 to Oct. 29 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.
The Taiwan delegation will be headed by MOFA Secretary-General Chen Yeong-cho (陳永綽) and be comprised of six other ministry officials and six Taiwan ambassadors to the country's diplomatic allies in the South Pacific, according to Lin Song-huann (林松煥), director-general of the MOFA's Department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs.
The delegation will be joining representatives of various regional organizations under the PIF and of Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the South Pacific in reviewing existing cooperation programs and exploring future opportunities for bilateral or multilateral cooperation, Lin said.
Lin noted that the PIF is the highest governmental organization in the Pacific region, which provides member nations with the opportunity to express their joint political views and to cooperate in areas of political and economic concern.
Taiwan was invited to become a post-forum dialogue partner in 1992 and took part in the dialogue for the first time in 1993, Lin said.
This will be the 13th consecutive year for Taiwan to participate in the event, he said.
Other post-forum dialogue partners include the US, China, Japan and South Korea.
Island leaders at the meeting opening in Port Moresby on Tuesday will be asked to adopt the plan, which contains a raft of goals to be achieved over the next decade.
The dominance of Australia and New Zealand -- who between them pour over US$500 million in aid into the region annually -- is sometimes resented by the island countries.
Forum host Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, accused Australia of trying to control the region and "undermining the integrity of the Pacific people," in a recent Australian television interview.
But the forum secretariat and Australia and New Zealand are portraying the plan as reflecting the needs and wishes of the island countries rather than rich donor nations.
One proposal which reflects long-held wishes of island countries is for Pacific island workers to be given access to work temporarily in Australia and New Zealand.
Both countries have quotas for migration from Pacific islands but have been opposed to accepting large numbers of temporary workers from the region.
Commonwealth Secretariat says that if Australia and New Zealand increased their quotas for temporary workers from the Pacific by the equivalent of one percent of their labor forces, island workers would benefit by US$1.3 billion in wages over three years.
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