Taiwan donates four navy patrol boats to Gambia
Central News Agency
2009/07/21 18:17:45
By Rachel Chan
Taipei, July 21 (CNA) The Republic of China's (ROC's) donation of four navy patrol boats to Gambia serves as a good example of close cooperation between Taiwan and its diplomatic allies, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia said Tuesday.
Hsia told reporters that he visited Gambia at the end of June to attend a grand donation ceremony hosted by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, at which four retired Taiwan-made navy patrol boats were officially handed over to the African country.
"President Jammeh was very pleased with the donation, as Gambia finally obtained patrol boats for its navy," said Hsia, explaining that the patrol vessels are important because illegal activities along the Gambian coastline are a big problem.
According to Hsia, Taiwan not only donated the patrol boats and spare parts, but also helped train Gambian personnel to operate and maintain the vessels.
In another area of assistance, Taiwan launched a four-year agricultural program this year to help the African country increase its food production and move toward self-sufficiency particularly in rice production, Hsia said.
In order to achieve this goal, he said, Taiwan's agricultural mission to Gambia will help the country to develop 28,000 hectares of farmland and will introduce the tidal irrigation method there to increase paddy rice production. This is a cost-effective and sustainable program, he added.
Andrew Chang, director-general of MOFA's Department of African Affairs, told CNA that the program, which is one of many bilateral cooperation projects, is aimed at putting Taiwan's diplomatic resources to better use.
However, he said, the success of the program will depend on the efforts of both governments, the willingness of Gambian farmers to adopt the new method, and the weather, as most of Gambia's rice is usually grown on hillsides and relies heavily on rainfall.
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