Taiwan Launches Trade
Offensive in Nicaragua
A delegation of
Taiwanese government and
business officials were
in Nicaragua for a
business mission on
Thursday as part of a
trade offensive by the
island among its allies
in Central America.
A group of 16 business
leaders and two
officials of the Taiwan
External Trade
Development Council make
up the mission, which is
set to remain in
Nicaragua three days.
Officials at the
Taiwan's Embassy in
Managua said the
delegation, which
arrived in Nicaragua
from Panama on
Wednesday, is led by the
deputy director general
of Taiwan's Bureau of
Foreign Trade, Wu
Hsin-hua.
A business round was
scheduled for later
Thursday at a hotel in
Managua, where the
Nicaraguan Association
of Producers and
Exporters (APEN) and the
export organ NICAEXPORT
will show samples of
potentially-exportable
products.
Beef, coffee,
shell-fish, metal
scraps, ebony and other
tropical woods, wooden
decorations, sorghum,
corn, wheat, palm oil
and soybean oil are
among the Nicaraguan
products that are of
interest to Taiwan.
Wu is set to meet
Nicaraguan Industry and
Trade Minister Orlando
Solorzano and Free Zone
Corporation director
Alvaro Baltodano.
In 2006, Nicaragua had
8.6 million dollars in
exports with Taiwan, 30
per cent more than the
previous year, according
to the Taiwanese
Embassy. In the first
half of 2007 Nicaraguan
sales to Taiwan
generated 6.3 million
dollars.
The bilateral balance of
trade favours Taiwan,
which exported to the
Central American country
39 million dollars in
2006, the embassy said.
The Taiwanese delegation
is also set to visit El
Salvador, Honduras and
Guatemala, who have also
signed free-trade
agreements with Taipei.
Taiwan is recognized by
24 countries, half of in
Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Taiwan's free trade
deals with Panama and
Guatemala are already in
effect and the agreement
with Nicaragua is
expected to become
active later this year.
The trade deals with
Honduras and El Salvador
will come into effect in
2008. |
|
