Taiwanese President Tsai optimistic about Taiwan-Somaliland relations with the establishment of a representative office, and she says ‘two countries’ united by shared values, will ‘respond to global challenges together’
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday (Aug. 17) lauded the establishment of the Taiwanese representative office in Somaliland as an important moment in Taiwan’s bilateral relations and that the country looks forward to strengthening cooperation with Somaliland to jointly respond to global challenges.
The representative office was established Monday in Somaliland’s capital city of Hargeisa. The flags of Taiwan and Somaliland were raised during the opening ceremony, and the two sides signed an agreement on technical cooperation.
In a Facebook post published Monday night, Tsai called Somaliland, which is located in the Horn of Africa, a “young but vibrant democratic country with abundant natural resources.” She said that at the beginning of this year, Taiwan and Somaliland decided to expand relations, and the first step was to establish representative offices.
Tsai said that thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the preparations to open Taiwan’s representative office in Somalia have finally been completed. This is an important moment in Taiwan-Somaliland bilateral relations, she stated.
The Facebook post included the video featured during the opening ceremony in Somaliland, in which Tsai extended greetings to the East African nation and described the friendship as being based on the common values of freedom, democracy, justice, and the rule of law. “These values unite the two countries and make the two countries stronger,” she said.
She added that Taiwan is eagerly looking forward to strengthening cooperation with Somaliland to jointly respond to global challenges. Based on the “spirit of mutual assistance for mutual benefits,” Tsai pledged that Taiwan and Somaliland will work together to promote various opportunities for collaboration, including agriculture, fisheries, energy, mining, health care, education, and information and communications technologies.
Tsai said she believes both sides will make great progress in these areas and that she hopes the partnership will “help promote peace, freedom, and prosperity in the Horn of Africa.”
President Tsai’s video message:
An important milestone for the #Taiwan–#Somaliland partnership! Today we opened the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland. We are bound together by our shared values of freedom, democracy, justice & the rule of law, ideals that will guide our future cooperation. pic.twitter.com/upAcpnJGfp
— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) August 17, 2020
