Chairman of the African Diplomatic Corps Ambassador Maloya; Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Ambassador Sawadogo; Esteemed Ambassadors and Representatives; Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Chang; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good Evening!
It is a great pleasure to have been once again invited to attend the Africa Day celebration hosted by the African Diplomatic Corps and to gather together tonight with esteemed ambassadors and representatives from Africa and other continents.
Since the Organization of African Unity was reorganized as the African Union (AU) nearly five years ago on July 9, 2002, members of that august body have been committed to promoting regional integration and cooperation in order to solve together the challenges Africa faces.
For example, the Peace and Security Council of the AU, patterned on the United Nations Security Council, was established to further safeguard regional peace and security and resolve conflicts.
Although Taiwan is geographically very far from African nations, this has not affected our long history of cooperation.
Taiwan's government and private sector have worked hard to share our experiences with our diplomatic allies and other friendly countries in Africa so as to assist them in building their nations and improving the lives of their people. Our efforts in heading up development projects in medical care, vocational training, basic infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, transportation, and education in these nations have also borne much fruit.
We have stationed agricultural, medical, technical, and handcraft missions in and dispatched medical consultants to our African allies. We also offer the Taiwan Scholarship to young people from our diplomatic allies that they may pursue studies in Taiwan. What's more, we organize workshops on topics such as food processing, agricultural policy, and the development of farming villages in order to train professionals from our allies that they might reach their full potential.
In October last year, the Horn of Africa suffered the worst torrential rains and flooding in 50 years. Many houses, roads, and bridges were damaged or swept away. These natural disasters also caused food shortages and triggered epidemics of diseases like malaria, cholera, and dysentery. Upon learning of these tragedies, Taiwan International Health Action speedily put together a relief team that brought large quantities of medicine to Kenya and helped battle an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever as well as malaria and diarrhea, which had struck in the wake of flooding.
Taiwan's ultra-marathon runner Kevin Lin, invited to participate in a United Nations (UN) initiative to raise international awareness of the water crisis in Africa and put together a fund to address the problem, completed a run across the Sahara Desert in February. Kevin's run was a vivid demonstration of the spirit and determination of this son of Taiwan and of the Taiwan people's love and concern for Africa.
Earlier this month, Kevin came forward to participate in a walking campaign entitled "Be WHO! Taiwan" and called for all people to work together in support of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO). His enthusiasm is admirable. Only by expressing love without borders like Kevin does can people work with one mind to fight diseases, which heed no national boundaries.
Over the years our African allies, holding fast to the belief that medical care transcends national boundaries and that there must be no gaps in the global disease prevention and control network, have kindly and justly supported Taiwan's participation in the WHO at the World Health Assembly. On behalf of our government and people, I would like to once again express our heartfelt gratitude to you. I earnestly hope that you will continue to speak out for Taiwan in the international community and assist Taiwan's efforts to join international organizations such as the UN and WHO.
The First Taiwan-African Allies Summit will be held in Taipei this September. Representatives from other African countries will be invited to attend seminars on the second day of the summit. We hope that attendees will put their heads together and share opinions during the summit such that a new chapter may begin in our efforts to work as partners and realize sustained development.
We look forward to receiving assistance from our allies in preparing for this summit and are eager to learn from the experience of The Gambia, which hosted a very successful AU Summit last July. Your assistance will help our preparations for this summit to proceed smoothly.
As we celebrate Africa Day, I would like to ask you now to recall the economic and democratic achievements Taiwan has made over the past 50 years because of the people's hard work. We have shown that where there is a will, there is a way. As long as we persist in pursuing our dreams, work hard, and never give up, success will definitely be ours.
I would like to emphasize once again our willingness to share with all African countries our developmental experiences. We hope that, through bilateral or multilateral cooperative projects, we can improve our understanding of one another, work towards mutual prosperity, and create a bright future.
In closing, I would like to invite all of you to join me in a toast. To the successful integration, solidarity, progress, and prosperity of the AU! To lasting friendship between Africa and Taiwan! To your health and happiness! Thank you.