The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to publish a revised white paper on foreign aid policy in March or April, the first revision since it was published in 2009, a ministry official said.
Lawmakers have been urging the ministry to update the document since 2021.
The ministry said it had drafted a white paper on international cooperation and development policy, which was originally planned to be released in September last year.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
The ministry’s Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Deputy Director-General Isaac Chiu (邱陳煜) on Tuesday said that the government has been compiling an updated document.
In the revised version, the concept of foreign aid would be replaced with international cooperation and development, which underlines that Taiwan and other countries would develop together as partners, Chiu said.
The document would also promote international cooperation and development in a human-oriented spirit with diplomatic policies that emphasize mutual benefit and mutual aid, he said.
The document would promote Taiwanese projects with foreign aid organizations in like-minded countries to help the nation’s allies and cement relations, he said.
Taiwan could help businesses expand their foreign markets while increasing its capacity to provide foreign aid, he added.
Taiwan is to adhere to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals while seeking technology cooperation with other countries, he said.
After the publication of the White Paper on Foreign Aid Policy in 2009, an Official Development Assistance database was set up to compile international cooperation information in government agencies.
The information was regularly updated and submitted to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The UN suggested that a nation’s foreign aid should account for 0.7 percent of its gross national income.
Data from the ministry’s International Cooperation and Development Report in 2021 showed that Taiwan’s foreign aid accounted for 0.04 percent of its gross national income, lower than Japan’s 0.34 percent, South Korea’s 0.16 percent and Australia’s 0.22 percent.
To meet the aid suggestion proposed by the UN, Taiwan should contribute NT$131.4 billion (US$4.3 billion) in foreign aid every year, which would be a large proportion of the government’s budget, Chiu said.
Foreign aid expenses would be treated with more flexibility, as it should consider the overall distribution of resources and Taiwan’s unique situation on the global stage, he added.
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