By Beata Lockwood
Caribbean Net News Dominican Republic Correspondent
Email: beata@caribbeannetnews.com

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic: After successful meetings between President Leonel Fernandez and Taiwanese representatives held last week, the Taiwan government has set in motion plans to forgive debts to the Dominican Republic, along with other eleven countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Dominican Republic president, Leonel Fernandez. AFP PHOTO

The plan proposed by the Taiwan Foreign Relations Ministry will require parliamentary approval, which may not be in place for the upcoming Taiwan-Central Americas summit meeting to be held in Honduras next month.

It appears that Taiwan is very aware of the increasing presence of China in the area and, in particular, China’s interest in the strategic position of the Dominican Republic to the US market, and is making every effort to maintain its foothold in the countries that have previously supported Taiwan over the last 50 years.

Fernandez stated previously that, although Costa Rica has recently severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China, the Dominican Republic intends to stay with Taiwan as a loyal trading partner.