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.
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