TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) launched a bilingual website Tuesday (Dec. 1) to attract international non-governmental organizations (INGO) to set up offices in Taiwan.

The initiative came as the National Democratic Institute (NDI), an organization with close ties to the Democratic Party in the United States, completed the registration process with the Ministry of the Interior to open an office on the island, CNA reported.

The International Republican Institute (IRI); the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which is linked to Germany’s Free Democrats (FDP); and the Czech think tank the European Values Center for Security Policy all announced similar intentions.

The new website provides practical information in English and Chinese about how to establish civil associations, foundations, and INGO offices in Taiwan while offering assistance to candidates. As staff still need to be trained, the service would start next year, ministry officials told reporters.

MOFA told the international organizations they could “expand their presence and influence by setting up local or regional offices, or even global headquarters” in Taiwan. Cooperation between the INGOs and Taiwan would promote “democracy, security, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and around the world,” the website said.