A cultural fair promoting the culture and products of and tourism in Taiwan’s diplomatic allies is underway in Taipei City, spotlighting the government’s commitment to improving the public understanding of these countries, while strengthening multilateral economic and trade ties.
Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the Taipei City-based Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the six-week event includes a series of activities like dance performances, handicraft-making and rum-tasting classes, tie-ups with local restaurants, as well as digital experiences utilizing telepresence robots to take audiences on a virtual trip to Palau and St. Lucia.
Included in the series of events over the past three months in the run-up to the cultural festival were a job-matching program for students from Taiwan’s allies and emerging markets, business plan and marketing competitions to promote products from Taiwan and these countries, as well as boxes of fresh ingredients sourced from allies on sale for the Mid-Autumn Festival, according to the TAITRA.
Y. C. Tsai, director general of MOFA’s Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs, said during the kick-off press conference Sept. 23 that it is expected that the fair will encourage the people of Taiwan to participate in public diplomacy while strengthening friendship with the country’s allies.
Other high-profile attendees included Ambassadors Candice Pitts of Belize; Willy Alberto Gomez Tirado of Guatemala; Eny Yamileth Bautista Guevara of Honduras; Mirna Mariela Rivera Andino of Nicaragua; and Augusto Hung-Ta Liao, executive director of the Taipei City-based Central America Trade Office.
Established in 1970, TAITRA is Taiwan’s foremost non-profit trade-promoting organization. The council operates more than 60 overseas offices and five around Taiwan, staffed by 1,300 specialists. (YCH-E)
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