On Wednesday last week, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) held a news conference at the Taipei World Financial Center to celebrate two milestones: The 30th anniversary of collaboration between the financial institution and Taiwan’s government, and the first anniversary of the inauguration of the CABEI office in Taiwan.
The event was attended by CABEI executive president Dante Mossi, Honduran Ambassador Harold Burgos, Guatemalan Ambassador Willy Gomez and Belizean Ambassador Candice Pitts. It is essential to mention that all of the ambassadors are from countries allied to Taiwan that are also members of the bank.
One of the main objectives of the news conference was to attract Taiwanese financial institutions to offer their products in Central America. As stated by one of its representatives, CABEI has a mission to explain to Taiwanese banks the risks of operating in the region and how they can leverage CABEI’s knowledge of the markets to maximize profit.
CABEI is an international multilateral development financial institution that continuously invests in projects that foster development to reduce poverty and improve regional integration. Its Taiwan office focuses on consolidating the bank’s presence in Asia and attracting financial resources for cooperation in Central America.
At the beginning of 2020, Taiwan offered its assistance with emergency support funds for affected countries in the region. Through the use of loans, Taiwan made significant efforts to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and also helped CABEI with its initiatives for economic recovery.
These efforts were touted by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who on Monday last week said that her government was committed to deepening ties with Central America, and promoting inclusive prosperity and sustainable development in the post-pandemic era.
Her remarks were made while receiving Mossi and his delegation at the Presidential Office.
All of CABEI’s projects have had a positive impact on the government’s task to maintain its diplomatic allies, but the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) pressure to isolate Taiwan on the international stage will most likely continue, so more effort is required.
There is no reason to believe that the CCP’s attempts to lure countries into breaking ties with Taiwan in exchange for access to its giant market and financial resources will recede. If anything, the recent visit of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan could exacerbate the CCP’s efforts.
This is where support for CABEI could present a great opportunity for the government. By encouraging private financial institutions to offer loans and other financial services in the Central American and Caribbean region, the Tsai administration could increase financial help offered to its allied countries and reduce the risk of them making the diplomatic switch.
This goal is paramount for Taiwan, because even when countries are strongly aligned with Taiwan because of its democratic values, governments have a mandate to improve the living conditions of their people, and that requires money.
This is why supporting CABEI is a great way to achieve this goal, because, as explained by one of its official representatives, the bank puts social aspects before making money, and is willing to sacrifice financial gain to make sure that investors continue to make a profit and invest more in the region.
Such a model also means that resources can directly reach people in need, which in turn can generate a positive impression about Taiwan’s contributions among regular citizens, citizens who have in their hands the power to elect their government representatives and guide policymaking.
The visit to Taiwan by CABEI staff resulted in an agreement to execute a project to promote empowerment of women and economic recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean, something that would potentially benefit hundreds of families.
The importance of CABEI is not lost on the government. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that Taiwan has made significant efforts to deepen its alliance with CABEI over the past three decades.
Just last year, both sides signed the Partnership Trust Fund Agreement, which Wu said would hopefully demonstrate the government’s commitment to its allies in the region.
In its quest for diplomatic survival, Taiwan must continue to find partnerships that allow it to level the playing field, that help its government provide its allies with the resources they need, and that do so without asking its government to sacrifice its principles and democratic values.
Fernando Herrera Ramos is a Honduran lawyer who resides in Taiwan.
Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), former chairman of Broadcasting Corp of China and leader of the “blue fighters,” recently announced that he had canned his trip to east Africa, and he would stay in Taiwan for the recall vote on Saturday. He added that he hoped “his friends in the blue camp would follow his lead.” His statement is quite interesting for a few reasons. Jaw had been criticized following media reports that he would be traveling in east Africa during the recall vote. While he decided to stay in Taiwan after drawing a lot of flak, his hesitation says it all: If
When Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) first suggested a mass recall of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, the Taipei Times called the idea “not only absurd, but also deeply undemocratic” (“Lai’s speech and legislative chaos,” Jan. 6, page 8). In a subsequent editorial (“Recall chaos plays into KMT hands,” Jan. 9, page 8), the paper wrote that his suggestion was not a solution, and that if it failed, it would exacerbate the enmity between the parties and lead to a cascade of revenge recalls. The danger came from having the DPP orchestrate a mass recall. As it transpired,
Elbridge Colby, America’s Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, is the most influential voice on defense strategy in the Second Trump Administration. For insight into his thinking, one could do no better than read his thoughts on the defense of Taiwan which he gathered in a book he wrote in 2021. The Strategy of Denial, is his contemplation of China’s rising hegemony in Asia and on how to deter China from invading Taiwan. Allowing China to absorb Taiwan, he wrote, would open the entire Indo-Pacific region to Chinese preeminence and result in a power transition that would place America’s prosperity
All 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), formerly of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), survived recall elections against them on Saturday, in a massive loss to the unprecedented mass recall movement, as well as to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that backed it. The outcome has surprised many, as most analysts expected that at least a few legislators would be ousted. Over the past few months, dedicated and passionate civic groups gathered more than 1 million signatures to recall KMT lawmakers, an extraordinary achievement that many believed would be enough to remove at
RSS