Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) yesterday left for Papua New Guinea, where an APEC ministerial meeting is to be held, in hopes of exchanging experiences with his counterparts and exploring business opportunities for Taiwanese companies.
Hochen was first to make a transit stop in the Philippines before continuing on to Port Moresby, where a meeting of APEC transportation ministers is to be held from Monday to Friday next week.
“We hope that we can help forge cooperative ventures during the meeting between local transportation companies and companies from the nations targeted by Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy,” Hochen said at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before leaving.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
The government has expressed an interest in promoting the learning of Southeast Asian languages, the policy’s main focus.
However, Papua New Guinea might present a challenge in this regard, given its 852 known languages.
Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the IMF, with only 18 percent of its population living in urban areas, which might be a challenge as well as an opportunity for Taiwanese seeking to do business there.
Hochen, who is accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Civil Aeronautics Administration and Maritime Port Bureau, is scheduled to return home on Tuesday next week.
The New Southbound Policy was launched by President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to enhance cooperation with nations in Southeast and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
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