A delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday arrived in Tuvalu for the Pacific Islands Forum.
The delegation is seeking to enhance ties with other nations in the Pacific region through multilateral programs at the forum, which is now in its 27th year, the ministry said.
Wu is to meet with local officials to express the government’s goodwill and plans to further solidify bilateral cooperation, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a regular news conference in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Wu is to meet with Tuvaluan Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga and attend a donation ceremony for a joint clean-energy program to show Taiwan’s commitment to helping its allies, Ou said.
Wu would also meet with officials from other like-minded nations to exchange opinions on trends and challenges across the Indo-Pacific region, she said, adding that the ministry would determine whether to reveal the names of the nations involved after the meetings.
The forum is an intergovernmental organization that includes Australia, New Zealand and other nations in the Pacific.
Founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum, it changed its name to the Pacific Islands Forum in 1999.
Taiwan, registered as “Taiwan/Republic of China,” has attended the forum’s related events as a developmental partner since 1993.
The nation has been a part of the forum’s secretariat programs to assist regional development, as well as the forum’s scholarship.
In addition to Tuvalu, five other nations in the Pacific hold diplomatic ties with Taiwan: Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and the Solomon Islands.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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