The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed appreciation yesterday for 16 of the nation’s diplomatic allies speaking up for Taiwan in the general debate of the UN General Assembly.
The allies, making their statements in separate speeches, again expressed support for the Republic of China’s (ROC) meaningful participation in UN-affiliated agencies such as the WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
A brief summary of the main points made by the allies, working with the theme of this year’s general debate — Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda — shows that they lauded Taiwan’s efforts in helping its allies achieve Millennium Development Goals and contributing to the global development agenda.
Addressing major issues of global concern, the allies stressed the importance of Taiwan’s participation, saying that the nation should be included in such trade blocs as the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
They also praised Taiwan as a regional peacemaker and spoke highly of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) East China Sea peace initiative — which urges rival states to shelve their disputes and cooperate in tapping the resources in the East China Sea — as a positive factor in the peace and stability in East Asia.
The 16 allies are Belize, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Paraguay, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland and Tuvalu.
The ministry said that five of the nation’s other diplomatic allies — Dominica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama — did not speak for Taiwan in the general debate, but have spoken out in support of the nation on various other international occasions and in several different organizations.
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