The International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) yesterday launched a new publication to promote and discuss Taiwan’s international development assistance efforts.
The Chinese-language Development Focus Quarterly, was formally introduced at a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Institute of Diplomatic and International Affairs.
ICDF secretary-general Timothy Hsiang (項恬毅) said that the quarterly would compile content from different electronic publications by the ICDF, a development aid agency founded by the ministry.
Photo: CNA
It would also serve as a platform for professional discussion on issues related to Taiwan’s foreign aid, as well as for experts to contribute their thoughts on how to improve Taiwan’s policy and practices in that field, Hsiang said.
The quarterly would be a medium for Taiwan to share its experiences in helping other countries, said Taiwan Institute of Sustainable Energy chairman Eugene Chien (簡又新), a former minister of foreign affairs.
The first issue reviewed Taiwan’s international aid over the past six decades and discussed how Taiwan could expand and improve such efforts.
The issue said that Taiwan first lent a hand to the international community a little more than 60 years ago, when it sent a team of agricultural experts to Vietnam to help it improve its agriculture production.
The ICDF was founded in 1996, bringing Taiwan’s foreign aid into an “era of specialization and legalization,” the editor’s note said.
Foreign aid is an important tool for Taiwan to further its foreign policy in an environment where it only has limited maneuverability internationally, the ICDF said in a statement.
“With these projects, Taiwan was able to strengthen its relations with many partner countries,” the ICDF said.
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