Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) presented a national flag to 40 students as they are to embark on a 10-day trip to Saint Lucia tomorrow as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) International Youth Ambassador Exchange Program.
Through three rounds of selections, 36 young people stood out from over 200 applicants, 18 for their English public speaking skills and 18 for their cultural talents, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Labor joined the program for the first time this year, selecting four past winners of the National Skills Competition in culinary to join the group of youth ambassadors, it said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan’s Embassy in Saint Lucia actively sought the opportunity for the youth ambassadors to visit the country again after the delegation sent by the program in 2015 left a deep and favorable impression on the local government and its people, it said.
After two weeks of training, the group yesterday gave a preview of the performance they would bring to Saint Lucia wearing T-shirts in the colors of Taiwan’s Caribbean ally’s national flag.
Saint Lucian Ambassador to Taiwan Robert Kennedy Lewis said that his children participated in the workshops held by the program in Saint Lucia and enjoyed them very much.
He thanked the program for enhancing the people-to-people relationship between Taiwan and Saint Lucia, adding that the youth ambassadors would be warmly welcomed by locals.
Wu said that he believed the ambassadors could bring the two countries closer through their performances and conversations.
During the trip, the group is to meet with senior Saint Lucian government officials, visit schools at different levels and interact with local youths in an international youth forum and other cultural activities, MOFA said.
The culinary talents are to display their skills by using local ingredients cultivated with Taiwan’s agricultural technologies in a tasting activity to practice “food diplomacy,” it said.
Tourism and agriculture are key industries in Saint Lucia, and Taiwan’s technical missions have been assisting locals in planting various crops, it said.
The youth ambassadors are to share their trip on the program’s Facebook page, it added.
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