The International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) signed two loan agreements with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to support countries in Central America to take action in response to the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s health, societies and economies.

On August 28, 2020, Dr. Dante Mossi, executive president of CABEI, signed the loan agreements during the signing ceremony at the bank’s headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, witnessed by H.E. Ingrid Hsing, ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Honduras, and Wei-Sheng Chiu, CABEI board director for Taiwan. Ambassador Timothy T.Y. Hsiang, secretary general of the TaiwanICDF, gave his pre-recorded remarks at the ceremony.

In his remarks, Secretary General Hsiang stated, “The amounts of these two loans are the biggest in the history of collaboration between the two parties. The two agreements signed today mark a milestone in further strengthening the partnership between the TaiwanICDF and CABEI, and also reflects deepening ties between Taiwan and CABEI.”

During the signing ceremony, Executive President Mossi said, “I want to highlight and thank the support that the Republic of China (Taiwan) has provided during the international health emergency, our countries have their unconditional support to face and strengthen actions that allow containing the virus and promoting economic reactivation. Their actions have been exemplary.”

Ambassador Hsing expressed that through the joint work of the TaiwanICDF and CABEI in financing, Taiwan, as a member of CABEI, reaffirms its ties and support for the development of the Central American region.

The two loans provided by the TaiwanICDF will finance two components of CABEI’s Emergency Support and Preparedness Program for COVID-19 and Economic Reactivation: “Credit for the Financing of Public Sector Operations” and “Financial Sector Support Facility for Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).” The former will support CABEI’s member countries to strengthen their health systems and mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable groups, the latter will support MSMEs to fight the pandemic and enhance their resilience to external shocks during the recovery phase.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Central America, in March 2020, CABEI initiated the Emergency Support and Preparedness Program for COVID-19 and Economic Reactivation to help its member countries implement actions to combat the pandemic and recover from the crisis, and invited other entities to participate in the financing of the Program. As a member of CABEI and an observer of the Central American Integration System (Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, SICA), Taiwan is committed to assisting our partner countries in Central America to pursue economic development and social stability, and contributing to the health and welfare of the international community. The TaiwanICDF, who has a long-standing partnership with CABEI, was one of the initial respondents to the Program, and the details of participation were finalized in a short period of time. Other countries and development agencies have also shown interest in being a program sponsor.

The world is still in the middle of fighting the pandemic. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan is committed to assisting our partner countries to overcome this unprecedented crisis. The TaiwanICDF’s participation in this emergency support and preparedness program will mutually benefit CABEI’s member countries and Taiwan, and further reinforce the impact of our cooperative efforts in Central America.

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• Update: 2020/09/02
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