President Ma Ying-jeou says that Taiwan is committed to its role as a foreign aid donor. Ma was speaking during a meeting with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Suma Chakrabarti on Thursday.
Ma said that the International Monetary Fund recently calculated that Taiwan’s GDP per capita in terms of purchasing power parity currently sits at US$43,600. This places Taiwan ahead of a number of industrialized countries, including Japan, South Korea, the UK and France. Ma said that such a high figure reinforces Taiwan’s sense of duty to help other countries.
"Since our economic development has reached this level, we feel a deep obligation to assist the international community. We have been quietly doing our part for many years," said Ma.
"Although we sometimes encounter difficulty doing some things through international organizations because of international political issues, we will not shrink back. We will continue helping many countries to the best of our ability," he said.
Ma said that Taiwan can share its expertise in LED lighting and solar power generation with other countries to help them reduce their carbon footprints.
He also said that Taiwan has become the fifth largest donor to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He said that through cooperation with the bank, Taiwanese companies were able to create business opportunities worth more than US$300 million in emerging markets.