Palauan President Surangel Whipps, Jr. is in Taiwan for the launch of a Taiwan-Palau COVID-19 travel bubble. The leader of the Pacific island nation is the first foreign head of state to visit Taiwan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whipps arrived on Sunday, accompanied by a delegation of Palauan politicians, health officials, and tourism industry representatives. Also joining the delegation is the United States’ ambassador to Palau.
Whipps’ five-day visit kicked off on Monday with a press conference. He will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, take part in an event promoting tourism to Palau, and travel to southern Taiwan to visit aquaculture and shipbuilding companies.
Whipps will return to Palau April 1, on board the first flight in the Taiwan-Palau travel bubble. Travelers between Taiwan and Palau will face fewer COVID-19 restrictions than other travelers, and they won’t have to go into quarantine.
The two countries were able to set up the travel bubble because Palau has not yet recorded a single case of COVID-19, and Taiwan has successfully stopped the pandemic from spreading within its borders.