New trade office launched to boost public-private ties: Diplomat

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has officially launched a new trade promotion office aimed at building public-private cooperation and new opportunities with Taiwan's diplomatic allies, the diplomat in charge of the project said Tuesday.

The project, called the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Economic and Trade Office (榮邦經貿辦事處), was inaugurated on July 15 and will be overseen by the MOFA-funded Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), MOFA official Yeh Chih-cheng (葉至誠) said at a weekly MOFA briefing.

The office is currently looking to hire two project managers to manage its operations, said Yeh, head of MOFA's Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs.

TaiwanICDF, the country's main foreign aid agency, is also searching for a location to house the office, likely in the TWTC International Trade Building.

Meanwhile, MOFA has appointed Vivianne Wang (王文瑋), a deputy counselor under the Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs, as the office's first chief, he said.

The project was first announced by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in late March, though Lin provided few details about what it would entail at the time.

Yeh said Tuesday that the office is modeled on the Central America Trade Office (CATO) and is aimed at promoting economic development among Taiwan's diplomatic allies.

Founded in 1997 and funded by MOFA, CATO regularly holds national and international trade shows, as well as trade, investment, tourism and cultural promotion events to support Taiwan's allies in Central America.

CATO, however, provides those services on a regional basis, specifically to Guatemala and Belize, Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies in Central America, Yeh said.

The new trade office will complement CATO's services and expand support to allies and like-minded partners in the South Pacific and Africa, he said.

Lin announced the establishment of the office to coordinate private-sector initiatives under the government's Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project.

Launched in May 2024 after Lin took office, the project aims to deepen substantive relations with Taiwan's allies through concrete development initiatives.

The Republic of China, Taiwan's official name, is currently recognized by 12 countries around the world.

Three are located in the Pacific (Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu), and seven are located in the Caribbean and Latin America (Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Paraguay).

The others are Eswatini in Africa and the Vatican.