Taiwan and St. Lucia sign “milestone” diplomat training agreement
11 May 2021
Taiwan’s government Institute for Diplomat Training has agreed to work together with partners in Saint Lucia.
The foreign ministry says the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs has signed an agreement with the Caribbean nation’s newly-established diplomatic academy. Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang says it is a “milestone” in relations between the two countries.
Tien joined Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to Taiwan Edwin Laurent to sign the agreement. Both officials also have roles as the heads of their countries’ diplomatic academies. Laurent says cooperation between the two institutions will boost the professional development of both countries’ diplomatic corps.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry says Saint Lucia has been a key partner in the Caribbean region since the countries resumed diplomatic relations in 2007. It says the new agreement will consolidate bilateral ties.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of Saint Lucia in Washington has joined with other representative offices of countries that have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan), to form a Taiwan Diplomatic Allies Ambassadors’ Caucus.
The initiative seeks to recognize the close relations between the countries and to seek ways to collectively advocate on issues of common interest to the US Congress and the Administration.
The meeting was chaired by the Ambassador of Haiti to the United States of America, and also commemorated 65 years of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Haiti and the Republic of China (Taiwan).
This initiative launch on April 27, follows a series of meetings between Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to the United States Anton Edmunds and Bi-Khim Hsiao, Representative of Taiwan in Washington, on the value of collaborating on policy engagement in the United States