Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is to be President William Lai’s (賴清德) special emissary at the inauguration of the president and vice president of Palau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director Peter Lan (藍夏禮) said that Palau, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan, held its presidential and parliamentary elections in November last year, with President Surangel Whipps Jr securing re-election with Raynold Oilouch as vice president.
“Palau will hold its inauguration ceremony of the president and vice president on Jan. 16, and Minister Lin Chia-lung will serve as a special emissary of the (Taiwan) president, leading a delegation to Palau to express congratulations on behalf of the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) government and people,” Lan said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Lin will, on behalf of Lai, express Taiwan’s sincere congratulations to Whipps, Oilouch and other government officials, as well as exchange opinions on Taiwan-Palau cooperation projects, Lan said.
Lin is to depart Taiwan today and return on Saturday, he added.
Aside from leading the official delegation, the minister would also lead a team of businesspeople to learn about the local business and investment environment in Palau, combining Taiwan’s industrial advantages with the “integrated diplomacy” strategy, and push forward the Allies Prosperity project in Palau, Lan said.
The team consists of people in Taiwan’s tourism, healthcare, port affairs, aquaculture and communications industries, he said.
They would explore industrial exchange and technical cooperation opportunities between the two nations, he said, adding that the plan is to assist Palau’s industrial upgrade, as well as bolster the “democratic supply chain partnership.”
It is also an implementation of the three core goals of “smart sustainability,” “sustainable democracy” and “sustainable diplomatic ties” put forth by Lai during his visit to the South Pacific allies last month, as well as Lai’s and Whipps’ shared vision of closer Taiwan-Palau economic and trade relationship, he added.
Meanwhile, the ministry would not discuss the possibility of a delegation led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to attend US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration meeting with US government officials.
Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said that with Lai’s approval, a cross-party delegation was organized to attend Trump’s inauguration.
As the US has just celebrated Christmas and New Year’s, and some representatives and senators have just been sworn in, the ministry is still in the process of arranging and confirming the delegation’s itinerary, Hsiao said.
However, according to diplomatic practices and consideration for security, the ministry does not reveal details about top officials’ itineraries to the public in advance, he added.
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