《TAIPEI TIMES》 Saint Vincent, Belize officials arrive for forum

WOMEN’s EVENT: Keisal Peters said that women ‘are empowered to provide for themselves and their families, and to empower others’ by a Taiwanese plan

By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter

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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Keisal Peters and Rossana Briceno, special envoy for the development of families and children of Belize, arrived in Taiwan yesterday to attend a forum on women’s empowerment to be held today.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs commissioned the International Cooperation and Development Fund to launch a program in 2021 to assist Taiwan‘s diplomatic allies in Latin America and the Caribbean with post-COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery and to support local women’s empowerment.

The Taiwanese ministry organized the “Empower Women! Empower LAC!” forum, inviting guests from the nation’s allies to share the results of the program.

Women have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and frequent earthquakes in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but now “they are empowered to provide for themselves and their families, and to empower others” thanks to the program, Peters said.

As the first female minister of foreign affairs in her country, it is meaningful to attend the forum, she said, adding that she looked forward to sharing her country’s progress.

President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） met Peters at the Presidential Office in Taipei, expressing gratitude for her country’s support for Taiwan.

Tsai said that Taiwan and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines could deepen cooperation on education and culture.

More than 200 students from the country have studied in Taiwan since 2004, she said, adding that the scholarship program’s quota is to be increased starting this year.

Peters thanked Taiwan for the comprehensive support it provided for her nation.

The government of the Caribbean nation highly values education reform, so she is happy that the quota for the scholarships is to increase, she said.

Later yesterday, Peters attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new reading room at the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines embassy in Taipei.

The reading room inside the embassy opened with about 55 books, including novels, poetry and nonfiction works by writers from the Caribbean nation.

“In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, education is a very important cornerstone, particularly in our administration we refer to it as the education revolution. And one of the keys to that revolution is reading,” Peters said.

Those wishing to visit the reading room can contact svgembassy.tw@gmail.com to request an appointment.

Separately, Tsai also met with Briceno — who visited Taiwan with her husband, Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno, in March last year — at the Presidential Office yesterday.

As a supporter of the education of women and children, Rosanna Briceno held entrepreneurial counseling and other training sessions in the past year as part of the empowerment program, Tsai said.

She took on the role of chairwoman for the Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Actions Network last year, integrating forces from all sectors to improve the rights of women and children in the Caribbean, she said.

After the Taiwan-Belize Economic Cooperation Agreement took effect in January last year, exchanges between the two sides have grown closer, she said.

For example, the two nations signed a letter of intent in March last year to import Belizean lobsters, while a Taiwanese business delegation visited Belize in July last year to deepen cooperation on seafood imports and food processing, she added.

Rossana Briceno said that Tsai’s pursuit of democracy, prosperity and human rights is inspiring to Belize, and thanked her for working together to promote women’s rights.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES