By Zachary Lee / CNA, with staff writer
Belize Prime Minister John Briceno has called for deeper cooperation with Taiwan through investment, technology exchanges and people-to-people ties, saying that he hopes the links would contribute to his country’s development.
In an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency in Bangkok on Wednesday, Briceno spoke warmly of Belize’s close ties with Taiwan and highlighted areas such as shrimp farming and practical technology exchanges for potential cooperation.
Briceno, 66, said Belize’s young population was an advantage for technology cooperation.
Belizean Prime Minister John Briceno speaks during an interview with the Central News Agency in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Photo: CNA
“We have a young population, and they go to junior college on to university, and they learn quickly. So these are areas where we can collaborate,” he said.
In the field of artificial intelligence (AI) development, cooperation with Taiwan does not necessarily have to begin with the most advanced technologies, but instead could focus on practical solutions that meet Belize’s needs, Briceno said.
“For example, shrimp farming technology is one area where Taiwan could contribute,” he said.
He also emphasized the value of people-to-people exchanges, saying that Taiwanese students working in Belize could help strengthen ties between the two countries.
There are six Taiwanese exchange students working in government ministries and other fields in Belize.
For Belize, attracting business investment and building technological capacity are part of a broader effort to expand economic opportunities and improve living standards, its leader said.
Briceno is attending this year’s Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Bangkok as Belize’s finance minister and chair of the World Bank’s Small States Forum.
In the interview, he said that international financial institutions need to take into account the limited administrative capacity and resources of small countries.
He cited as an example the challenge his country faced in participating in a World Bank-funded project to help small farmers strengthen their resilience to climate change.
Briceno said that by the time Belize had completed the lengthy application procedure, it was close to the deadline, and he had to ask the World Bank to extend the timeframe.
Climate change is one of the issues affecting small nations, Briceno said.
Caribbean island nations and other coastal countries in the region are dealing with a massive influx of brown sargassum seaweed, which threatens tourism — a major economic lifeline, Briceno said, calling for regional solutions.
In Belize, another significant challenge is providing basic infrastructure and services to its widely dispersed population of about 420,000, given its limited tax base, he said.
“We have to constantly see how we can find that balance in providing basic services, access to water, access to electricity, and access to education and health,” he said.
Belize has 196 small communities and the government must balance residents’ needs against its limited resources while maintaining fiscal sustainability, Briceno said.
As a long-standing partner of Taiwan, Belize is committed to its relations with Taiwan, Briceno said, adding that China’s sanctions against Belizean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Francis Fonseca would not change that position.
Belize is an independent country with the right to decide which countries it maintains relations with, Briceno said, condemning China’s sanctions as unreasonable, unnecessary, wrong and illegal.
That move by China would only serve to strengthen Belize’s resolve to support Taiwan, he said.
“We strongly believe in the right to self-determination,” he said, adding that Taiwan’s strengths in the economy, technology, AI, healthcare, education and climate research warrant recognition by the UN and other international organizations.
Briceno, who began his second term as prime minister last year, said he wants Belize to remain a free and democratic country with a vibrant economy capable of providing for its people.