Source: Republic of China Taiwan
Foreign Minister Lin hosts dinner to welcome Saint Lucian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Hilaire
Date：2025-09-04
Data Source：Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs
September 4, 2025
No. 317
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a dinner on September 3 to welcome a delegation led by Saint Lucian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information Ernest Hilaire. During the dinner, Minister Lin extended a sincere welcome on behalf of the government of Taiwan and thanked the Saint Lucian government for its long-standing support for Taiwan’s international participation. The delegation also included Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Emma Hippolyte and Minister for Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment Joachim Henry.
In his remarks, Minister Lin recalled his October 2024 visit to Saint Lucia, where he attended the launch of a healthcare screening and case management system and the award ceremony for a digital training program for government officials. He said that having personally witnessed the fruits of Taiwan-Saint Lucia cooperation and having engaged in exchanges with Deputy Prime Minister Hilaire, he was particularly delighted to once again meet with him in Taiwan.
Minister Lin went on to say that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was actively promoting President Lai Ching-te’s Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative. He said that this had provided young Taiwanese with opportunities to visit Saint Lucia for internships, and he welcomed the visit of young Saint Lucians to Taiwan to advance exchanges between the two nations’ younger generations. He also thanked Saint Lucia for its steadfast backing for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, which he said demonstrated Saint Lucia’s enduring friendship and support for Taiwan.
In his remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Hilaire said that the deeply rooted diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Saint Lucia were founded on shared values and mutual respect. He said that the assistance provided by Taiwan through programs covering construction, agriculture, education, industrial guidance, cultural and artistic exchanges, and infrastructure had substantively raised Saint Lucian people’s well-being and welfare. In addition, he thanked the Taiwan government for offering scholarships to create more employment and development opportunities for Saint Lucian students. He said he hoped that Taiwan and Saint Lucia would further deepen cooperation in such areas as tourism, culture, and law enforcement, adding that Saint Lucia would act as a staunch ally of Taiwan and continue to support Taiwan’s international participation going forward. (E)