Somalilandsun: Taiwan will dispatch a medical mission to the self-governing African territory of Somaliland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday in a statement, without providing a timeline for the mission.
The Health sector enhancement pact deal that avails somaliland Taiwanese expertise and knowledge exchange was jointly signed by foreign ministers Joseph Wu and Liban Yusuf
The plan is part of a medical cooperation agreement Taiwan and Somaliland inked Wednesday, according to the statement, which was issued after the signing ceremony.
The mission will be stationed at a hospital in Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa to provide training for local medical staffers and help improve the territory’s healthcare capacity, the statement said.
The pact “enables our #HornOfAfrica friend & partner to boost health care services capacity benefiting the people,” MOFA said via Twitter the same day.
Medical cooperation has been a key area of bilateral collaboration, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said at the signing event in Taipei.
He noted that Taiwan launched a program to address the high fatality rate among pregnant women and newborn infants in Somaliland after the two signed a pact in 2020 to advance bilateral relations.
Commenting on the pact Somaliland’s acting foreign minister Liban Yusuf Osman tweeted
I was honored to ink a momentous medical cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of China (#Taiwan) & the government of Republic of (#Somaliland) with H.E #josephWu. it marks a significant milestone in somaliland- Taiwan friendship & strategic partnership. pic.twitter.com/bKJvZeuX77
— Minister Liban Yousuf Osman (@DeputyLiban) June 16, 2021
The agreement, unveiled last July, also involved the opening of representative offices on one another’s territory and the appointment of envoys.
Apart from government efforts, Taiwanese civil groups have also contributed to the ties with Somaliland, Wu said, referring to medical volunteers from the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps and aid provided by the TSMC Charity Foundation.
