President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) says she hopes to continue improving trade relations with Belize, especially in the seafood, coffee, and cocoa industries. Tsai addressed Belize’s legislature on Monday as part of her official visit to Central America.
The president says she’s come to Belize to see its progress in education, agriculture, feminism, and health care. She also witnessed the two countries’ foreign ministers sign a technology cooperation agreement and Taiwan’s donation of 5,000 laptop computers. The president says the two countries have already improved their trade relationship over the past two years, and Belize’s exports to Taiwan have quadrupled.
But Tsai says there are more challenges to handle in the aftermath of the pandemic, like climate change, economic inflation, and the spread of authoritarianism. She adds that while Taiwan has faced many threats from China, it is also becoming closer with other democratic countries.
While Tsai says Taiwan is still unable to join many international organizations, she thanked Belize for advocating for Taiwan’s participation at many global conferences.