“By sharing Taiwan’s experience in foreign aid, we hope to let the world know that Taiwan is willing to participate in international affairs actively”

A conversation with Timothy HSIANG, September 2022

Timothy T. Y. HSIANG is the Secretary General of the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). A former Ambassador at the Department of Policy Planning of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was Representative at the Taipei Commercial Representative Office in the State of Kuwait, Ambassador to the Republic of Nauru, Deputy Director General for Economic and Trade Affairs, and Convener of the WHO Task Unit. He graduated from the George Washington University.

Q1/ Like South Korea, Taiwan has transitioned from a recipient country to a donor country of development assistance. Taiwan’s rapid development led USAID to terminate development assistance programs in 1965, and Taiwan now spends several hundred million dollars on international cooperation. For a start, could you give us an overview of Taiwan’s official development assistance policy? What is the mandate of TaiwanICDF?

The TaiwanICDF was established to boost socio-economic development, enhance human resources, and promote economic relations in developing partner countries. To carry out our mission, we offer assistance that centers on four core operations: lending and investment, technical cooperation, humanitarian assistance, and international education and training.

Every new project from the TaiwanICDF proceeds according to a rigorous project cycle and is backed by mutual covenants signed in cooperation with relevant stakeholders. Our projects are designed to address the strategic development goals of each of our partner countries, pay due consideration to associated regional trends, and maximize results by employing the right combination of capital and technical cooperation.

Ultimately, our work is tailored to the local needs of each partner country. Our assistance covers development issues in six priority areas, namely environment, public health, agriculture, education, information and communications technology, and micro, small and medium enterprises.