December 1, 2023
No. 418
Taiwan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) staged their second Annual Donor Day meeting at the EBRD’s London headquarters on November 28. The meeting was attended by Amb. Kelly W. Hsieh, Representative to the United Kingdom; Charles C. Li, Secretary General of the International Cooperation and Development Fund; Greg G. D. Lee, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships; Ines Rocha, EBRD Managing Director for Impact and Partnerships; and Camilla Otto, EBRD Director for Donor Partnerships.
During the meeting, the Taiwanese delegation engaged in strategic dialogue with a number of EBRD teams. Discussion covered such topics as cooperation to support reconstruction in Ukraine, participation in EBRD projects in sub-Saharan Africa, expanding personnel exchanges, raising Taiwan’s visibility in partner countries, and promoting business-matching opportunities between Taiwanese enterprises and the EBRD. Representatives of the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Financial Supervisory Commission also attended online to discuss Taiwan’s advantages in such areas as information security, digital transformation, capital markets, and sustainable infrastructure. With the two sides reaching consensus to cooperate on a number of issues, the meeting achieved fruitful results.
Also, Amb. Hsieh and Mr. Bowman signed an agreement on a new injection of funding into the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and confirmed that Taiwan will donate to the EBRD’s Ukraine Recovery Guarantee Facility and the International Chernobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA). Amb. Hsieh also attended the ICCA donor conference, signing a cooperative agreement with Managing Director Rocha pledging that Taiwan will work with other donors—including the EBRD, the EU, the United Kingdom, and Norway—to safeguard Ukraine’s nuclear safety and energy stability.
Founded in 1991, the EBRD is a highly renowned regional development and financing institution whose purpose is to assist nations in central and eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa in transitioning to market economies and becoming democratic, pluralistic societies. As an important partner to the EBRD, Taiwan has participated in more than 400 technical cooperation projects, creating a wealth of opportunities for Taiwanese businesses and fulfilling the goal of engaging in mutual assistance for mutual benefit. Through its role as an EBRD donor, Taiwan will continue to promote the transition to environmental, digital, and economic empowerment in partner countries as a force for good and carry out the notion that Taiwan is helping. (E)