Taiwan Establishes Office in Guyana 南美外交突破 蓋亞那設立台灣辦公室
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the establishment of a trade office in South American Guyana. The U.S. Department of State and the American Institute of Taiwan welcomed the news.
Taiwan and the breakaway Somali territory of Somaliland exchanged representative offices in 2020. On Feb. 4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it had reached an agreement with Guyana to set up a trade office there. The agreement was signed on Jan. 11, and the office began operating on Jan. 15 and MOFA is making other preparatory arrangements.
China has been increasing its influence in the western hemisphere in recent years, and the U.S. views China as a threat. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Guyana in 2020. Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said she welcomed this development and it should strengthen the bilateral relationship and promote regional security, prosperity, and democratic values. The American Institute in Taiwan said all countries can freely pursue closer relations and greater cooperation with Taiwan.
Taiwan and the breakaway Somali territory of Somaliland exchanged representative offices in 2020. On Feb. 4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it had reached an agreement with Guyana to set up a trade office there. The agreement was signed on Jan. 11, and the office began operating on Jan. 15 and MOFA is making other preparatory arrangements.
If the government of Guyana wishes to set up an office with equal status in Taiwan in the future, we will let them set up an office based on the principle of reciprocity under the agreement.
Guyana is located in northeast South America. Suriname is to the east, Brazil is to the south, Venezuela is to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean is to the north. It has a population of 800,000 and the capital is Georgetown, which is the seat of the Caribbean Community's Secretariat. The country has rich mineral and oil resources. Guyana is also a member of the British Commonwealth. The Republic of China currently only has one diplomatic ally in South America, which is Paraguay. A trade office in Guyana can reinforce the relationship with South America. This is also a strategic location.
Georgetown is a very good strategic point for the future. However, Taiwan is only setting up an office, not establishing formal diplomatic relations, so the value to the people of Taiwan and whether the Friendship Fleet will be able to provide assistance in the future are still unknown.
China has been increasing its influence in the western hemisphere in recent years, and the U.S. views China as a threat. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Guyana in 2020. Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said she welcomed this development and it should strengthen the bilateral relationship and promote regional security, prosperity, and democratic values. The American Institute in Taiwan said all countries can freely pursue closer relations and greater cooperation with Taiwan.
繼與非洲國家索馬利蘭互設代表處之後，外交又有新突破，外交部宣布與南美洲國家"蓋亞那合作共和國"協商達成共識，決定在當地設立"台灣辦公室"， 雙方1月11日簽署設處協議，辦公室也已經在15日展開初期運作，目前正逐步完成相關籌備作業。
外交部發言人 歐江安表示：「如果蓋亞那的政府未來也決定，在台灣設立同等地位的辦公室，我們會根據所簽署的協議，對等互惠原則，讓他們設立辦公室。」
蓋亞那位在南美洲的東北部，東鄰蘇利南，南臨巴西，西鄰委內瑞拉，北鄰大西洋。人口約80萬，首都喬治城也是加勒比海共同體的秘書處所在地。礦產及石油資源豐富，蓋亞那也是大英國協成員國，學者分析，我國現在南美洲的友邦僅有巴拉圭，在蓋亞那設辦公室除了增強與南美的關係，也是個重要的戰略位置。
淡江戰略所副教授 黃介正表示：「（首都喬治城）確實是一個可以去想像，未來一個很好的據點。只是因為設一個辦公室，而不是建交，到底能夠給我們自己的國人，或者是未來敦睦艦隊，能不能夠有很大的幫助？我們都還必須要再評估考量。」
中國近年在西半球影響力日增，對美國造成不小威脅，前美國國務卿龐佩奧去年就曾特別造訪蓋亞那，對於台灣在蓋亞那設辦公室，美國國務院西半球事務局代理助卿鍾茱莉對此表示歡迎，並指此舉將增強雙邊關係，也有助促進區域安全、繁榮與民主價值，AIT也表示所有國家都應該自由地與台灣尋求更緊密的關係及更良好的合作。
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