The relationship between Taiwan and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has grown steadily, especially over the past two years, the Caribbean country’s embassy in Taiwan said while marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
“These two island nations, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of China, are bound by the principles of mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty, democracy and their people’s right to self-determination,” Andrea Bowman, the nation’s ambassador to Taiwan, said on Friday. “The integrity of this alliance has stood the tests and vicissitudes of time. We look forward to more than 40 more years of friendship, freedom, [and] prosperity,” she said.
“Friendship, Freedom, Prosperity” is the slogan that won a competition among Vincentians to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations between their country and Taiwan, which were established on Aug. 15, 1981.
In a statement, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Embassy in Taiwan said cooperation between the two countries in the areas of agriculture, health, education and technology has affected 110,000 Vincentians since formal diplomatic ties were founded.
Ten years later, Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund was established in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, bringing social changes and improvements to infrastructure to the country, the statement said.
Since 2004, approximately 220 Vincentian students have been given scholarships by Taiwan to acquire undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate degrees at Taiwanese universities, it said. Bilateral ties were further “concretized” after the country opened its embassy in Taipei on August 8, 2019.
“Taiwan has worked very generously with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines towards combating the pandemic caused by COVID-19, even while addressing its own challenges in this regard,” the embassy said.
Taiwan has also pledged US$300,000 toward the Caribbean country’s relief efforts following explosive eruptions of the La Soufriere volcano in April 2021, it said.
Taiwanese citizens and Vincentians in Taiwan have also together contributed more than NT$561,000 (US$20,145) to the volcano relief efforts.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has used its seat on the UN Security Council to advocate for Taiwan’s inclusion in UN decision-making bodies, including the World Health Assembly, over the past two years, the embassy said.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines formalized ties with Taiwan less than two years after it gained independence from the UK on Oct. 27, 1979.
