Taiwan to spend NT$1 billion more in 2026 on Latin America

Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) plans to allocate NT$1 billion (US$32.86 million) more to countries in Latin America for fiscal year 2026 compared to last year, to enhance ties with the region, where seven of its 12 diplomatic allies are located, according to a budget proposal sent to lawmakers for review.

In the budget proposal, MOFA's Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs aims to spend a total of NT$5.3 billion, NT$1 more than it allocated for the same purpose in fiscal year 2025, to engage in "enhancing and promoting bilateral and multi-lateral exchanges" in the region.

According to MOFA, the proposed budget, once approved by lawmakers, will be used to help its diplomatic allies in the region to build infrastructure and to train professionals. A part of the budget, meanwhile, will be used to engage in cooperation projects with non-allies, MOFA added.

Asked to explain the significant hike in the budget, a diplomatic source familiar with Latin American affairs told CNA that Latin America and the Caribbean is a vast region with a total of 33 countries.

Previous years' budgets have proven not enough to meet the rising demands of the region, particularly because Taiwan has seven allies in the area, namely, Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The proposed rise in budget is also to cover the travel expenses for Taiwanese delegations to the region and vice versa, as a result of inflation that has significantly hiked the cost of travel and accommodation.

MOFA will also be launching many major projects in Latin American and Caribbean allies as part of the ministry's newly-launched Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project (榮邦計劃), according to the unnamed source.

The project was launched by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in May 2024 to deepen substantive relations with allies and like-minded countries, to help the prosperous development of allies, and to consolidate diplomatic ties.

Since then, MOFA has been in the process of integrating the resources of all government ministries and agencies to export smart solutions in areas spanning from semiconductors, new energy, smart demonstration parks overseas, smart medicine and healthcare, smart agriculture, and sustainable tourism, to its allies and like-minded countries.

Meanwhile, to counter China's growing influence in the region, MOFA also added a NT$53.84 million budget to hold more workshops and events with local governments, think tanks, academia, NGOs, and media, and to co-host events in Latin America and the Caribbean, so as to raise their awareness of Taiwan, the source added.

Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China, has lost 10 diplomatic allies to the People's Republic of China, since May 2016 after former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office, due to deteriorating cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

Five of them -- Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras -- were Latin American countries.