Mon, Sep 02, 2024 page2

• Taiwan signs cooperation pact with PIF Secretariat

  SHOW OF SUPPORT: While the foreign ministry did not provide details on the agreement, it said it would serve as a demonstration of Taiwan’s commitment to the region

  • Staff Writer, with CNA
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  Taiwan has signed a cooperation agreement with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat to continue its ongoing support of the organization from next year to 2027, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday.

  Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) and a representative from the PIF Secretariat signed the pact during the annual Taiwan/Republic of China-Forum Countries Dialogue in Tonga on Friday, the ministry said in a news release.

  It did not provide other details on the three-year pact, including how much financial support is involved, saying only that the deal “serves as a concrete demonstration of Taiwan’s commitment and support toward the development of the Pacific region.”

  

  Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general and former Nauruan president Baron Waqa, second left, addresses the plenary session at the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Nuku’alofa on Wednesday last week.

  Photo: EPA-EFE

  The meeting was the 29th edition of the Taiwan/Republic of China-Forum Countries Dialogue organized by the PIF Secretariat.

  Marshallese President Hilda Heine and PIF Secretariat Deputy Secretary-General of Governance Desna Solofa cohosted the meeting, which was also attended by representatives from Palau and Tuvalu, two of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, the ministry said.

  Tien was leading a delegation to visit Tonga to attend the meeting, which is being held alongside the annual PIF summit, which ran from Monday to Friday last week in Tonga.

  Despite being a nonmember in the 18-member PIF, an intergovernmental organization, Taiwan has been an active participant at the annual summit as a “development partner” since 1993.

  Nonmembers including China, the US, Japan, Canada and the EU also participate in the annual forum and other PIF events as “dialogue partners.”

  Over the years, Taiwan has supported projects across the Pacific, including in agriculture, education, medical care, public health, information and communications technology, women’s empowerment, clean energy and basic infrastructure, improving the well-being of people in the region, the foreign ministry said.

  During this year’s summit, the Solomon Islands, a former Taiwanese ally that switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, proposed preventing Taiwan from attending FIP events, allegedly under instructions from China, it said.

  The proposal was rejected with the support of Taiwan’s three allies in the PIF, namely the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, as well as Australia and New Zealand, it said.

  However, a PIF communique released at the conclusion of the summit that initially mentioned support for Taiwan was later withdrawn and republished with mention of Taiwan removed, due to pressure from China.

  The ministry condemned China for its “irrational behavior” that undermines regional peace and stability, while calling on like-minded countries to keep close tabs on Beijing’s actions and safeguard the stable development of Pacific island nations.

  It added that the communique would not affect Taiwan’s status in PIF or its right of participation in its events, and it thanked Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and like-minded countries for their support of the country’s continued participation in the PIF.
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