The International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) is integrating more technology into its foreign aid programs for diplomatic allies by working with the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL), including a new project to assist Palau in protecting coral reefs.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation was signed between ICDF Secretary-General Timothy Hsiang (項恬毅) and NARL president Wang Yeong-her (王永和) on Thursday.
The two semi-official agencies are affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology respectively.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute
The ICDF promotes nearly 100 foreign aid projects — mainly in public healthcare, environmental protection, disaster prevention and relief, agriculture and food security, information and digital infrastructure — in allied nations every year, it said.
Since 2006, the ICDF has used satellite images relayed by NARL’s National Space Organization in several programs for Central American allies, Hsiang said yesterday, adding that the MOU aims to expand cooperation and increase each agency’s international presence.
For example, the ICDF is helping Honduras improve forest insect management, assisting Nicaragua in improving disaster response times and helping Belize advance urban infrastructure resiliency, he said.
The marine and underwater technologies developed by NARL’s Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI) are to be employed in ICDF’s aid programs for Pacific allies, he said.
For example, the ICDF is helping Palau protect its coral reefs, with TORI members forming a delegation to inspect the corals off the coast of Palau last year, he said.
Cooperation on ocean technology is beginning with Palau because corals are vital to the nation, while ocean conservation has become a global issue, Hsiang said.
At the ICDF’s invitation, TORI associate research fellow Chen Chien-hsun (陳建勳) and National Sun Yat-sen University oceanography professor Keryea Soong (宋克義) last year visited Palau to inspect corals and water conditions, TORI director Wang Chau-chang (王兆璋) said separately.
In addition to aid, the institute’s research vessel, the Legend (勵進), would also be used for survey voyages to more remote waters and data collection, he said.
Partnerships with Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific countries can be expected, he added.
The ICDF also plans to use computing and artificial intelligence technologies developed by NARL to improve information security and household registration systems in allied nations, Hsiang added.
Taiwan maintains formal ties with 15 allies, including four in the Pacific, one in Africa, one in Europe and the rest in Latin America or the Caribbean region.
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