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a periodic review of our program of international
workshops, which has been ongoing for nearly 16 years,
and concluded that in the future, the program should
be focused on project-based workshops designed to
promote and upgrade capacity in our bilateral cooperation
projects. As a secondary focus, we will hold policy-based
workshops that introduce and share Taiwan’s experiences
and comparative advantages. All workshops will be
tailored to the training needs and objectives of our target
beneficiaries. Content will be planned individually for each
workshop and updated on a yearly basis. We will also
use seminars and short-, medium- and long-term training
placements to ensure that our training is timely and
effective. All of these measures help achieve the objective
of capacity building through sustainable development
efforts.
Promoting Regional Projects, Integrating
Resources and Expanding Effectiveness and
Influence
Regional integration has become an important
trend in development aid work. In response to this, we
are planning and promoting an increasing number of
large-scale, regional projects across multiple countries in
addition to our continuing work inside individual countries.
In December, for example, we signed a project agreement
with the OIRSA for a joint Strengthening the Control of
Huanglongbing (HLB) and the Implementation of Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) in Citrus Project. This project will
integrate Taiwan’s active research in HLB over the past
60 years, drawing on expertise from Taiwan’s industrial,
government, academic and research institutions. We hope
that the project will assist Belize and four other countries
already infected with HLB in building disease prevention
and treatment capacity, as well as prevent the spread of
HLB to two other disease-free countries.
Furthermore, our ICT Technical Cooperation Project in
the Caribbean, commissioned by MOFA, was successfully
implemented in St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Belize,
paving the way for us to replicate this initiative in other
regions in the future. Our recent project in Nicaragua
and Honduras – 2012 Satellite Monitoring of Forest,
Natural Resources and Mitigation of Natural Disasters in
Nicaragua and Honduras using GIS and RS – also yielded
remarkable results. We will be extending operations into
Guatemala and have received significant interest from El
Salvador regarding the project.
In the future, we will continue to participate in
events organized by international organizations and
arrange visits from relevant organizations to help expand
the effectiveness and impact of our aid efforts, as
well as build opportunities for regional integration and
cooperation.
When the UN’s MDGs reach the end of their term in
2015, the next phase of the global development agenda
is likely to involve a continuing series of “Sustainable
Development Goals.” Current international trends point
toward development aid that is centered on partner
countries and meeting their needs. The TaiwanICDF should
have a vision that reflects these ambitious objectives to
advance with the times.
I therefore remind my colleagues that we should all
strive for excellence and never forget that we bear the
responsibility and expectations for Taiwan’s foreign aid
mission on our shoulders. More importantly, as we stand
at this turning point, we must believe that with every
successful step we take, we are rewriting history together.
Tao Wen-lung
Secretary General
