The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has submitted a budget of NT$29.53 billion (US$1 billion) for fiscal year 2021, citing an increase in international cooperative projects and assistance provided to other nations.
That is NT$1.44 billion more than the budget submitted last year, and includes NT$1.63 billion more for international cooperation and assistance projects than was allocated two years earlier.
The ministry has planned development projects in ally nations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including a team of experts that would work with Caribbean and Latin American countries, of which it has budgeted NT$62 million, as well bilateral and multilateral projects with several countries that would cost about NT$1.49 billion.
It has also budgeted NT$77 million for an international catastrophe relief fund.
The NT$29.53 billion budget includes NT$27.1 billion of allocations that are publicly viewable, NT$1.04 billion of allocations that are classified, NT$1.26 billion for the Bureau of Consular Affairs and NT$88 million for the ministry’s Institute of Diplomatic and International Affairs.
The ministry said it would be spending NT$13.28 billion on “international cooperation and care.”
Of that, NT$2.76 billion would be budgeted for projects in the Asia-Pacific region, which would include NT$2.2 billion for infrastructure and development projects and the promotion of exchanges with countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, as well as NT$480 million to help Pacific island countries deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.
NT$1.55 billion would be budgeted for Africa and the Middle East, which would include NT$1.44 billion for development and medical assistance, the ministry said, adding that the remainder would be spent on staff training, technical cooperation, scholarships and the promotion of exchanges with countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
It said that NT$6.69 billion would be budgeted for Caribbean and Latin American countries, which includes NT$5.62 billion for infrastructure projects for diplomatic allies, training programs and cooperative projects, as well as NT$950 million for pandemic-related economic recovery and women’s economic empowerment.
The ministry said that NT$15 million would be included for costs associated with promoting Taiwan’s inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The amount is unchanged from what was budgeted in each of the past two fiscal years.
The annual budget also includes NT$12 million — up from NT$6 million last year — for promoting a bilateral trade agreement with the US, as well as a multilateral arrangement that would include other countries, the ministry said.
The government on Friday last week announced that it would be easing regulations on US pork and beef imports, hoping that the move would serve as a basis for talks on such an agreement, said a source, who asked to remain anonymous.
It also hopes to sign a foreign investment promotion and protection act with Canada, the source added.
The NT$12 million would be used to hold symposiums and trade-promotion events, as well as to meet with the governors of different US states, the ministry said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in March and June hosted a conference promoting Taiwan’s participation in the CPTPP.
The ministry this year also continued its practice of budgeting roughly NT$100 million annually to promote Taiwan-US exchanges, which it said would be spent on meetings with US officials, companies and civic groups.
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