A Somaliland-Taiwan trade fair is to take place on Thursday next week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, encouraging local businesses to explore opportunities in east Africa through Somaliland.
The event is to be held online and offline in Somaliland and Taiwan simultaneously, Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Deputy Director-General Isaac Chiu (邱陳煜) told a regular news briefing in Taipei.
It is co-organized by the ministry with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei, and the Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland, which opened last year, he said.
The association is also to sign a memorandum of cooperation with Somaliland’s business association on the opening day of the fair, he added.
Through the physical fair and online meetings for business matchmaking, the event aims to help local businesses explore the emerging market in east Africa and take early action to grasp business opportunities in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, he said.
Somaliland is near international waterways, with its Port of Berbera opening up to the strategically important Gulf of Aden, a vital passage for the transportation of global goods and energy products, Chen said.
The port also provides entry into the east African market, he said, adding that many EU and Middle Eastern countries are actively investing in Somaliland.
With the African Continental Free Trade Agreement having come into effect in January, a single market for goods and services trade is taking shape on the continent, signaling many potential business opportunities, Chen said.
Representative to Somaliland Allen Lou (羅震華) earlier this month attended the opening of the Somaliland Innovation Zone on information and communications technology, the Taiwan office wrote on Twitter on Oct. 11.
Supported by the ministry-affiliated International Cooperation and Development Fund and Somaliland’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, the innovation zone is expected to benefit at least 200 learners each year and develop into a platform for digital learning, healthcare and commerce, the office wrote.
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