New Library

Saint Vincent prime minister lauds firm friendship with Taiwan

Central News Agency 2009-10-29 07:48 PM

Panama City, Panama, Oct. 28 (CNA) The friendship between Taiwan and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has become ever-stronger after many years of cooperation between the two countries, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said Wednesday.

Addressing the inauguration of a national library in the Caribbean country constructed using funds from Taiwan, Gonsalves said the biggest public library in the Caribbean region is the best testimony to the friendship between the two countries.

Gonsalves also expressed his thanks to Taiwan for its assistance with several other infrastructure projects, including the country's Youth Empowerment Service (YES) program, which has been rated as the best model program worthy of emulation by other countries in the region by the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO's) Latin American regional office.
The program is geared toward the economic and personal skills and the social enhancement of unemployed young people.

Examination Yuan President John Kuan, who was visiting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for the country's 30th anniversary of independence, also attended the ceremony.

Kuan said that assisting Taiwan's allies in strengthening the development of their human resources has been included in his government's white paper on foreign aid policy published in May and that the library's establishment marks the fulfillment of the principles covered in the white paper.

Kuan also said that Taiwan will stick to its promise to continue with bilateral cooperative programs.

(By Huang Kwang-chun and Y.L. Kao)