Taiwan’s commitment to SKN to expand beyond funding

Staff Reporter-SKNVibes.com

(L-R) St. Kitts Ambassador and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Rosalyn Hazelle with the new Republic of China (ROC) Taiwan Ambassador,  His Excellency Rong-Chuan Wu

The Ambassador emphasized that future exchanges between St. Kitts and Taiwan would not only build on established relations, but would expand into previously under-explored areas, such as information technologies, small business and culture.

Ambassador Wu, speaking at a special ceremony to commemorate the inauguration of Taiwanese President elect Dr. Ma Ying-jeou and Vice-President Vincent C. Siew, said his government would continue to developing traditional areas of cooperation between St. Kitts & Nevis and the ROC.

“We hope to help local farmers increase the amount of produce they get from their lands. In the future we look to identify an available space of about 20-30 acres to build a commercial farm with a facility to provide adequate water,” said the Ambassador, citing that Taiwanese researchers had determined that adequate supply of water is a major problem for agricultural development in St. Kitts.

“As you know, in the past our relationship with St. Kitts has focused upon the Agricultural Technical Mission. Now we are beginning to implement new developments, such as the ICT Center,” said Wu. ~~Adz:Right~~

In speaking with Titan Lee, a Specialist at the ICT Center, SKNVibes.com was informed that the main function of the facility was to “provide training courses in Information Technology to the government and people of St. Kitts & Nevis.”

According to Wu Tourism and business investment are also slated to be important aspects of Taiwan’s future presence in the Federation.

“There are nearly 600,000 Taiwanese living in America and we plan to encourage them to spend their travel dollars in the Caribbean. It may also be feasible for some of our businessmen to open small and medium sized businesses in your beautiful Federation,” said the Ambassador.

Though most of the past cooperation between the ROC and St. Kitts has revolved around financial investment, Wu expressed a hope that this would not be the only reason for Kittitian and Taiwanese relations in the future.

“Our future cooperation can not only be limited to economic exchanges. Cultural exchanges between our countries is just as important….We would like to identify private cultural groups in both our countries and encourage them to make an exchange,” he stated.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, congratulated President Ma and Vice President Siew on their inauguration and a statement was issued declaring that St. Kitts & Nevis will continue to “embrace Taiwan in the spirit of solidarity, goodwill and mutually beneficial understanding.”