The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday signed an agreement with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to establish a joint trust fund, with Taiwan planning to donate US$5 million over five years.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and CABEI President Dante Mossi signed the agreement while meeting over videoconference.
Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮), Central Bank Deputy Governor Chen Nan-kuang (陳南光), and ambassadors of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, as well as CABEI’s Taiwan office members, also attended the virtual event, the ministry said in a news release.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
Headquartered in Tegucigalpa, CABEI on July 6 opened its first overseas office in Taiwan, with Chen and Su serving as the nation’s representatives on its board of directors, it said.
Starting this year until 2025, the ministry would donate US$1 million to the fund each year to help the four diplomatic allies implement CABEI’s technical cooperation and capacity building projects, it said.
The government would select Taiwanese companies or consultants to join the projects to help the countries improve their economic and social developments, and boost Taiwanese industry’s profile in the region, it added.
The Central American countries’ development needs have changed, Chen was quoted as saying in the statement, adding that he hopes CABEI properly utilizes the funds.
Taiwan and CABEI would next year mark 30 years of partnership, Wu said.
In the post-COVID-19-pandemic era, Taiwan would continue working with CABEI, the nation’s diplomatic allies and other friendly countries to promote the region’s sustainable and inclusive developments, he said.
Thanking Taiwan for its contributions to CABEI over the years, Mossi said the agreement for the fund marks a milestone of bilateral partnership.
Honduran Minister of Finance Luis Mata said he appreciated Taiwan offering technical and financial aid to the country, adding that Taiwan-Honduras ties are firm and steady.
In other news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said that China’s Global Times was spreading disinformation to sabotage Taiwan-Honduras relations.
The newspaper said that numerous social media accounts criticizing Honduras’ left-wing candidate in the Nov. 28 presidential election might be related to the Democratic Progressive Party.
The Global Times has been identified by the US government as a “foreign mission,” the ministry said, adding that it is an organ of the Chinese government and does not qualify as media.
Taiwan would respect the outcome of the Honduran presidential election, it added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS