TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The opening ceremony of the Taiwan-U.S.-Japan Global Cooperation and Training Framework’s (GCTF) seminar on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief will be held Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The conference, titled “Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters,” will be attended by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and the American, Japanese, and British representatives. This is the first time the U.K. has participated in a GCTF activity.

Taiwan and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the GCTF in June 2015. Through the platform, Taiwan can use its strengths and expertise to address global issues of concern to member countries.

The GCTF holds training programs aimed to enhance multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and officials and experts from around the region are invited to take part to strengthen capacity-building.

Japan joined the framework as its third member in 2019. Since then, the GCTF has invited additional members on an annually rotating basis. In 2019, this was Sweden and Australia; in 2020 it was the Netherlands.

According to MOFA, the GCTF has hosted 29 international seminars on topics of common concern to Taiwan, the U.S., and Japan, inviting nearly 1,600 government officials and experts from 68 countries around the world.