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MOFA to release first white paper on foreign aid policy in May

ROC Central News Agency

2009/04/21 13:54:56

By Rachel Chan

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) A long-awaited "white paper" on foreign aid, which will outline the country's new thinking on "professional and effective" overseas assistance, will be released next month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday.

“Now that the statistics of our foreign aid programs have been compiled according to the standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) , the white paper is scheduled to be released in early May, ”said Weber Shih, director-general of the MOFA's Department of Economic and Trade Affairs.

“The main goal for issuing a foreign aid white paper is to bring Taiwan's overseas aid program in line with international trends, " Shih said of the initiative, which will be the first white paper Taiwan has ever issued on the subject.

The ministry first broached the idea of a white paper last September and had initially planned to release the study late last year, but efforts to bring the project's methodology in line with international standards resulted in delays.

According to Shih, the paper will use the“Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness”and the United Nations’Millennium Development Goals as references and stress "transparency and professionalism" as the future direction of Taiwan's overseas assistance.

“The goal of‘progressive partnerships and sustainable development’will be clearly indicated in the white paper, " Shih said, adding that Taiwan will help its diplomatic allies achieve long-term development through the transfer of its expertise in various fields.

Besides bilateral aid programs, Taiwan will also provide aid through multilateral channels by strengthening its cooperation with international organizations such as the World Trade Organization's Aid for Trade program, Shih said.

A special exhibition will be held later in May to demonstrate Taiwan's foreign aid achievements over the years and help the public better understand the functions of the country's International Cooperation and Development Fund, he added.

Taiwan's foreign aid program has been criticized in the past by the international community for its use as a tool to solicit the recognition of countries in a diplomatic tug-of-war with China.

After President Ma Ying-jeou took office last May, the government has considered overhauling its foreign aid program based on a "diplomatic truce" in which Taiwan and China tacitly agree not to vie for each other's allies.