Taiwan and three Caribbean nations reaffirm pledges to step up relations
St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr
Timothy Harris (second from left) and Republic of
China Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fransico Hwang
shake hands while St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister
Dr Denzil Douglas (c) and St. Kitts and Nevis
Ambassador to the Republic of China, Errol Maynard
look on. Photo: Erasmus Williams
Saturday, August 14, 2004
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts: The Republic of China
on Taiwan and its three diplomatic partners in the Caribbean have signed a
joint communiqué in Taipei reiterating their staunch backing for the Asian
nation to join international organisations.
Republic of China Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chen Tan-sun and his
counterparts from the three Eastern Caribbean nations signed the communiqué on
Wednesday, reaffirming pledges to step up relations and cement cooperation on
a broad range of fronts. During a meeting at
the foreign ministry, Chen signed the joint communiqué on behalf of Taiwan's
government with St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Timothy
Harris; Grenada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elvin Nimrod and the Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, Louis Straker. In the joint
declaration, the three diplomatic partners reiterated their staunch backing
for Taiwan to join international organizations, such as the United Nations and
the World Health Organization, and the four ministers condemned terrorism and
supported all necessary measures to deter terrorist acts in both national and
international contexts.
The four ministers also scrutinised joint
ventures signed in the past and exchanged viewpoints on feasible cooperative
ventures during the meeting. Apart from
bolstering political interaction, Minister Harris and the other officials
vowed to strengthen exchanges in the fields of economics, tourism, education
and culture. Chen also agreed to clinch an
accord with the three ministers on visa-exempt treatment for diplomatic
passport holders to facilitate bilateral visits and exchanges between Taiwan
and their countries. Taiwan promised to help
upgrade computer-related expertise, medical and public-health levels, and
living standards in the three Eastern Caribbean nations and it will send
officials to assist in volunteer services there.
The three foreign ministers from the Eastern Caribbean region arrived in
Taipei on Tuesday to attend the 8th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the four
countries. They are slated to leave on Sunday.
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