A trade promotion office to be launched under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to serve as a platform to build public-private cooperation and create business opportunities with Taiwan's diplomatic allies, the diplomat in charge of the project said today.
The project, called the "Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Economic and Trade Office," was announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Monday, but Lin offered few details of what it would entail.
Photo: Taipei Times
Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Yeh Chih-cheng (葉至誠) today said that the office would be modeled on the Central America Trade Office (CATO) and be aimed at promoting economic development among Taiwan's allies.
Founded in 1997 and funded by the ministry, CATO regularly holds national and international trade shows, as well as trade, investment, tourism and cultural promotional events, to support Taiwan's allies in the Central American region.
Lin has praised CATO for fulfilling its mission over the past three decades, but CATO is focused on providing such services on a regional basis, specifically to Guatemala and Belize, Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies in Central America, Yeh said.
Lin wants to establish the new office to complement and expand CATO's services to allies and like-minded partners in the South Pacific and Africa, Yeh added.
Once operational, likely in the second half of this year, the new office is to serve as a one-stop service platform between the ministry and private-sector entities seeking to invest in allied countries, mainly providing administrative support, he said.
The office would assist private companies with marketing and promotion in those countries and also serve as a liaison between Taiwan's embassies and representative offices and local governments, he said.
Lin announced the establishment of the office to coordinate private-sector initiatives under the agency's Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project.
Launched in May 2024 after Lin took office, the project aims to deepen substantive relations with allies through concrete development initiatives.
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