The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has proposed an NT$4.87 billion (US$154.1 million) international cooperation and foreign aid program budget for Latin America and the Caribbean this year.
Lawmakers, citing the loss of Honduras as a diplomatic ally and the outbreak of civil unrest in Haiti that has impeded the implementation of aid programs, questioned why the budget allocated is only slightly less than the previous year’s NT$4.96 billion.
The ministry said in its report to the Legislative Yuan that the budget cannot be further reduced due to the need to strengthen existing ties to counter a surge in Beijing’s activities directed at undermining the nation’s diplomacy in the region.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
The international cooperation and aid budget is focused primarily on promoting basic infrastructure, public hygiene and education, as well as upgrading agricultural, forestry and fishery industries and assisting in social development, the ministry said.
Notable activities funded by the program include projects to repair the region’s economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, empower women and a scholarship program to boost professional training and employment, it said.
The ministry added that Taiwan’s friends have benefited significantly from these projects.
Citing examples, the ministry said Taiwan is in the process of facilitating the construction of medical hospitals in Guatemala’s Chimaltenango, San Juan de Dios and Escuintla.
The nation is assisting Paraguay to build social housing and a university of science and technology, procure motorcycles for its SWAT officers and improve the digital management platform of its health care system, the ministry said.
The budget is to fund efforts to provide campus Internet access and school meals for impoverished children in Belize, and support the Youth Empower Service, road repairs and community center improvement programs in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, it said.
The funds would also bolster sustainable tourism in Saint Kitts and Nevis and strengthen Saint Lucia’s development of crime prevention, sports industry and the fisheries, agriculture and tourism sectors, the ministry said.
Taiwan continues to list a budget to help Haiti increase the productivity of its rice farming to ensure aid could resume as soon as order is restored in the nation, it said.
Meanwhile, the ministry detailed the government’s contributions to multilateral cooperation and development organizations, including the World Vegetable Center, Food and Fertilizer Technology Center and International Rice Research Institute.
Taiwan’s participation in these groups enabled the nation to carry out aid programs that facilitated the development of agricultural technology and economic cooperation throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America, it said.
The ministry additionally contributes to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the Asian Productivity Center’s projects for green energy and smart manufacturing, it said.
Taipei last year collaborated with international banking organizations to facilitate economic development programs in 11 countries including Ukraine, Belize, Guatemala and Paraguay, it said.
Areas of cooperation include enhanced measures against money laundering and an NT$900 million aid package to help Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, it said.
The ministry also took part in global efforts to strengthen the resilience of democratic institutions by investing US$1 million over three years to help independent media and donated US$200,000 to the International Religious Freedom Institute for the fifth consecutive year, the ministry said.
Furthermore, the nation last year marked the 10th year of its participation in the Global Alliance to Defeat ISIS, the ministry said.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS