Ambassador Jack Yu-Tai Cheng poses with Taiwanese volunteers in St Vincent. Taiwan and St Vincent celebrate 25 years of unbroken diplomatic relations on August 15. Photo: Kenton Chance

Ambassador Cheng told Caribbean Net News various activities were being planned to commemorate the milestone even as five more Vincentians prepare to commence undergraduate studies in Taipei, courtesy the Taiwan scholarship programme.

Taiwan also gives financial assistance to qualifying Vincentians students at primary, secondary and post-secondary institutions across St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The diplomat said the human resource development programmes will focus on areas such as tourism development and economic planning.

Ambassador Cheng, who took up office in Kingstown in February, said his country is reaching out to the region, including those nations that do not have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.

He had then told Caribbean Net News that Taipei wanted the countries of the region to understand that it is willing to help them in their development. He made it clear that the new trust will complement and not replace Taiwan’s assistance in the infrastructural development of St Vincent and the Grenadines even as Taipei announced a US$15 million grant and a US$10 million soft loan to aid in the construction of an international airport here.

Additionally, Taiwan has agreed to grant US$10 million to continue the financing of the Youth Empowerment Service (YES) Programme and the construction of the additional resource centres in each of the 15 constituencies across St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said Taipei will provide additional university scholarships to the five given annually even as his government solicited from Taipei further technical and material assistance in agriculture and other sectors.

A pioneering group of Five Taiwan Overseas Volunteers are in the final months of their assignment in St Vincent and the Grenadines working at several government institutions across the country.

Since Taipei and Kingstown established diplomatic relations in 1984, St Vincent and the Grenadines has witnessed significant advances in its agricultural sector, a major segment of the economy.

There has been the introduction of new crops such as Taiwan jujube, wax apple and, among others, new species of pineapple and the propagation of banana using the tissue culture method.

And while the Taiwan Agricultural Mission is trying to get Vincentians involved in the processing of the many fresh fruits available here, it has helped St Vincent and the Grenadines to become self sufficient in meeting its demand for pork.

Both the government and opposition in St Vincent and the Grenadines have repeatedly spoken of their commitment to maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan, saying that the relationship is a principled one.

“It has been a principled one which has evolved into a family-like one characterised by (i) a special closeness and bond; (ii) mutual respect; (iii) reciprocal caring for each other based on available resources. We in SVG appreciate the material contributions of Taiwan’s people and government, just as the Taiwanese appreciate our diplomatic support in various fora internationally,” former Minister of Foreign Affairs Mike Browne said on the 24th anniversary of the relations.