The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday applauded a pledge by the G7 to raise US$600 billion in public and private funds to finance infrastructure in developing nations to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The government would not shy away from working with like-minded countries, Deputy Director-General of European Affairs Lu Shih-fan (呂世凡) said.
US President Joe Biden announced the pledge at the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday.
Biden said that the US and other G7 members would only provide “limited funding,” but encouraged private entities to make large-scale investments.
A German think tank has suggested that the G7 expand its membership to include other democracies, such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, and rebrand itself as the G10+1, with Taiwan as the “plus one.”
The ministry said it respected the think tank’s suggestion.
The G7 has in the past few years been leaning toward inviting like-minded countries to attend its meetings, Lu said, citing as examples invitations extended last year to Australia, India, South Africa and South Korea.
The G7 has this year extended invitations to Argentina, India, Senegal and South Africa to attend its summit to demonstrate its inclusivity and willingness to work with like-minded countries to face global challenges, defend liberties and the democratic way of government.
Lu said the government applauded such measures and looked forward to following suit.
Commenting on the NATO summit to be held in Madrid today and tomorrow, Lu said a new strategic concept document is expected to be passed at the meeting.
Lu also said that non-NATO countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, have been invited to the summit for the first time.
The ministry also thanked the G7 for a communique it released that “underscores the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and encourages a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.”
This is the second consecutive year that the G7 has issued a statement of support for Taiwan, which is appreciated by the Taiwanese government and people, it said.
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