The Legislative Yuan yesterday launched parliamentary friendship associations for countries in Africa, Central and South Americas and the Caribbean, which were initiated by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉).
Taiwan should foster more connections with African countries and many of them have great potential in trade and investment, Chiu said at the inaugural ceremony of the Taiwan-African Countries Parliamentary Friendship Association.
Accompanying President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her visit to Eswatini in September last year, Chiu said he witnessed the fruitful outcome of cooperation between Taiwan and its African ally.
Photo courtesy of Chiu Chih-wei’s office
There is a lot of room for bilateral cooperation between Taiwan and African countries in the fields of trade, investment, culture, education and science and technology, he said.
He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to draw up an updated and more comprehensive version of the Africa Project, which Tsai initiated in 2018.
The Taiwan-African Countries group is to promote parliamentary and people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and African countries, helping the nation work toward the goal of setting up 10 representative offices in Africa in the next four years, especially in central and north Africa, he said.
Taiwan has six representative offices in five African countries: Eswatini, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Somaliland and South Africa, he said, adding that the group aims to set up more offices in African countries to bolster bilateral exchanges and provide Taiwanese businesspeople there with more resources.
He urged the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the International Cooperation and Development Fund to draw up a cooperation plan with African states to boost Taiwan’s visibility.
At the inaugural ceremony of the Taiwan-Central and South American and Caribbean Countries Parliamentary Friendship Association, Chiu thanked Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the regions for speaking up for Taiwan at international events and supporting its international participation.
The group is to promote and expand cooperation with countries in the regions in fields such as science and technology, trade, economy and education, he said.
During the Legislative Yuan recess, he plans to lead delegations to diplomatic countries to conduct parliamentary diplomacy.
The group is also to meet with foreign ambassadors and representatives in Taiwan regularly to exchange views on various topics to advance a substantive relationship between the legislative and executive branches, he said.
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