On October 22, 2021, the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) convened high-level representatives of the U.S. Department of State and the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a virtual forum on expanding Taiwan’s participation at the United Nations and in other international fora. The discussion focused on supporting Taiwan’s ability to participate meaningfully at the UN and contribute its valuable expertise to address global challenges, including global public health, the environment and climate change, development assistance, technical standards, and economic cooperation. U.S. participants reiterated the U.S. commitment to Taiwan’s meaningful participation at the World Health Organization and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and discussed ways to highlight Taiwan’s ability to contribute to efforts on a wide range of issues. Participants lauded the significant expansion this year of the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, demonstrating Taiwan’s willingness and capacity to address global challenges through multilateral collaboration.
Participants in the discussion included: AIT Deputy Director Jeremy Cornforth, State Department Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organizations Hugo Yon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Rick Waters, Deputy Assistant Secretaries for International Organizations Nerissa Cook and Jane Rhee, Secretary General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lily Hsu, and TECRO Deputy Representative Liang-yu Wang.
