David Wang, head of the Department of West Asian and African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), said Tuesday that despite the break in relations between the Gambia and Taiwan, the Gambia has a good credit record and there should be no problem with repayment of loans extended by Taiwan. Wang said that MOFA wants to assure the public that it will follow up on the outstanding loans, which were offered under contracts with commercial banks, and ensure that “whatever the Gambia borrowed, it will repay.”
In the past Taiwan’s government has extended foreign aid to allied countries to promote development projects, a number of which turned out to be money-losing propositions. MOFA has provided funding or loans to Panama, Macedonia, Paraguay and other countries to set up industrial zones which eventually went under due to poor management or factors involving local governments. Several of these zones have been abandoned, leaving behind outstanding loans in the tens of millions of US dollars, representing a diplomatic nightmare for Taiwan.
Wang told the press that the diplomatic nightmares of the past will not be repeated. He stressed that Taiwan’s loans to the Gambia were made through contracts with commercial banks, which are not affected by the break in relations between the two nations. Thus the Gambia is obligated to pay them back in full.
Wang said that Samuel Chen, Taiwan’s ambassador to the Gambia, has made arrangements to return to Taiwan but is being held up by an airline strike in the country. Chen has already hired a contractor to dismantle the ROC embassy offices there and will depart as soon as possible, leaving the job of overseeing dismantling to subordinates.
At the same time, projects in the Gambia such as military exchanges and agricultural assistance will be closed down as quickly as possible.
The Control Yuan has initiated an investigation into the background of the Gambian decision to sever diplomatic relations, a move which caught Taiwan’s diplomatic corps off guard. Several legislators have also asked for reports from MOFA on why the ministry was not aware of changes underfoot in the West African country.
Control Yuan member Louis Chao said the yuan’s investigation will focus on problems in communications and decision-making that may have contributed to the lapse in intelligence, in order to ensure that a similar situation does not occur in the future.
Source: http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=2349248