Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Wednesday vowed deeper cooperation with Somaliland to help overcome the shared predicament of international isolation.
Speaking on Wednesday during a meeting with Somaliland Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Essa Kayd at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wu said that the two countries have an exclusive understanding of what it is like to be largely unrecognized by the majority of the world’s countries and intergovernmental organizations.
“This is why Taiwan will continue to support Somaliland’s ongoing democratic construction and promote bilateral cooperation, particularly in areas such as energy, telecommunications, agriculture and medicine,” Wu told Kayd, who is leading a ministerial delegation to Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via CNA
Wu also proposed closer economic, trade, talent and capacity-building exchanges, a ministry statement said.
Kayd expressed gratitude to Taiwan’s private and public sectors for offering assistance to his country in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that Taiwan is an important partner of Somaliland and that both share democratic values, such as freedom and human rights.
Kayd said Somaliland’s determination in strengthening relations with Taiwan would not change “despite external pressure,” a reference to coercion from Somalia and China.
Relations between Taiwan and Somaliland have warmed over the years, with Taipei opening a representative office in the capital Hargeisa on Aug. 17, 2020, and Somaliland opening a reciprocal office in Taipei the following month on Sept. 9.
Taiwan has diplomatic relations with only 14 countries. Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after years of conflict, does not have formal ties with any states.
This is a result of China and Somalia holding claims over the self-ruled territories.
Taiwan and Somaliland have circumvented these obstacles by opening representative offices instead of embassies in a number of countries.
Despite warming relations, a ministry official would not give a direct answer yesterday when asked if Taiwan is considering establishing official diplomatic relations with Somaliland.
Department of West Asian and African Affairs Deputy Director Wu Cheng-wei (吳正偉) said that Taiwan would continue to enhance relations with Somaliland on all fronts.
The delegation is scheduled to depart on Saturday.
Aside from meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior government officials, the delegation is also to meet with local business representatives, including state-run oil supplier CPC Corp, Taiwan, to exchange views and discuss deepening bilateral cooperation, the ministry said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
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Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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