Australia on Sunday thanked Taiwan for providing quality medical care to more than 10 international refugees who were in urgent need of medical attention or suffering from serious illnesses at its offshore immigration detention center in Nauru.
The Australian Office Taipei issued a statement saying that all the refugees had agreed to be treated in Taiwan and to return to Nauru once they have been discharged from hospital.
Taiwan has won global praise for its quality medical care and contributions to the international community in the area of health and medical care, the statement said.
Taiwan has been doing this under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Australia in September last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in Taipei.
Taiwan Adventist Hospital in January began to help bring in refugees and asylum seekers from the center in Nauru who needed, but could not obtain, urgent medical care, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
Australia is responsible for footing the transportation and medical bills for the refugees, the MOU says.
The Australian government has an offshore immigration detention facility in Nauru that houses asylum seekers from Iran, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and other countries.
Taiwan and Nauru have a fruitful longstanding medical cooperation relationship and that as an active and contributory member of the international community, Taiwan is willing to work with other nations to improve the health of all people, Lee said.
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