The foreign ministry has hailed the launch of the new West Asia Formosa Club as a sign of growing international support for Taiwan. The ministry praised the news in a press release late on Thursday, ahead of the club’s inaugural meeting on Friday.
The newly established West Asia Formosa Club brings together 63 lawmakers from eleven countries. Members from Jordan, Turkey, Mongolia, and Russia jointly chaired the group’s first meeting online on Friday.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry helped establish the first Formosa Club in October 2019, bringing together various pro-Taiwan legislative groups in the European Union. It says the aim of such clubs is to create a platform to strengthen relations with lawmakers in like-minded countries.
In a pre-recorded speech to the club, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the necessity of international cooperation. He called on countries to support Taiwan’s membership in the World Health Assembly, saying that Taiwan wants to share its pandemic prevention expertise with the world.
Vice Foreign Minister Miguel Tsao also addressed the virtual meeting. He said strong links already exist between the member nations and Taiwan, particularly in fields like technology, education and tourism. Trade between the countries was worth US$26 billion in 2020, he says. Tsao says Taiwan will continue to strengthen its relations with partner nations.