Taiwan 'open' to possibilities with Honduras after presidential poll

Taipei, Dec. 25 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday it will maintain an "open and pragmatic" attitude toward future developments with Honduras in the wake of its presidential election in which the winner pledged to restore ties with Taiwan.

In a statement, MOFA called on the president-elect, Nasry Asfura of the conservative opposition National Party of Honduras, to implement policies based on the welfare of the people.

But MOFA also said it remained committed to its consistent stance of maintaining an "open and pragmatic" approach to future relations, without offering any further comment on the possibility of restoring ties.

MOFA's statement came after Honduras' National Electoral Council declared Asfura the winner on Christmas Eve (local time) in his second bid for the presidency.

According to the council's final data, Asfura secured 40.3 percent of the vote in a tight race against Salvador Nasralla of the center-right Liberal Party, who garnered 39.5 percent.

Rixi Moncada of the ruling Libre party finished a distant third.

During the campaign, both Asfura and Nasralla pledged to restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Ties were severed in 2023 by sitting President Xiomara Castro in favor of the People's Republic of China, ending an 82-year alliance.

In July, Asfura told Bloomberg that Honduras was "100 times better off" with Taiwan, and he identified a triangle of cooperation involving Taiwan, the United States, and Israel as his primary strategy for boosting the national economy.

The push to restore ties has followed a period of severe economic hardship for the Honduran aquaculture sector.

In July, local media El Heraldo cited data from the National Association of Aquaculturists of Honduras (ANDAH) showing that shrimp exports to Taiwan plummeted by 74 percent in the first six months of 2025 relative to 2023 levels, with China not picking up the slack.

Similarly, data compiled by Taiwan's Customs showed that the value of Honduran shrimp imports dropped from US$106 million in 2023 to just US$22.36 million in the first 11 months of 2025.

Despite Asfura's declared win, Nasralla and Congress President Luis Redondo of the ruling party have respectively rejected the outcome, alleging the exclusion of certain ballots that should have been counted.