TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Saint Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Hanley on Tuesday (May 9) pledged to deepen ties with Taiwan.

“We continue to give our commitment in terms of strengthening the relationship (with Taiwan) that exists among our federation,” Hanley said. “We continue to support Taiwan,” he added.

Hanley pointed out that on April 4, his nation’s parliament passed a resolution backing Taiwan and its desire for greater international participation. “That is something that we see ourselves continuing to do,” he said.

The deputy prime minister said his visit is an opportunity “to continue (the) relationship that exists and learn from best practices that I can take back to the federation.” He said that Taiwan has invested in a number of initiatives in Saint Kitts and Nevis over the past 40 years, including in education and social development.

Taiwan has provided scholarship opportunities for Kittian and Nevisian students to become professionals and give back to their home country, said Hanley. It has also continued to build community centers in the Caribbean nation, “which are now used as our senior day care centers,” he said.

After visiting the Wenshan School of Special Education, Hanley expressed interest in exchanges with Taiwan to improve special education in Saint Kitts and Nevis. He also said Mandarin courses were important in exposing Kittian and Nevisian students to diverse cultures and languages and called for more Mandarin education.

Hanley mentioned that there are plans for a one or two-week summer camp in Taiwan in the coming months for Taiwanese youth to learn English. He, along with Ambassador Donya L. Francis, also encouraged Taiwanese to consider Saint Kitts and Nevis as a place to learn English in a different accent.

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Infrastructure and Utilities, Transport, Information, Communication and Technology and Post Konris Maynard highlighted bilateral cooperation in technology and energy.

With Taiwan’s help, Saint Kitts and Nevis hopes to establish a digital ID solution and transform its government into an e-government. “Taiwan partnership is essential,” he said.

In terms of energy independence, Maynard said his country seeks to work with Taiwan to explore the possibility of limited onshore and offshore wind power. He said that Saint Kitts and Nevis sees strong wind patterns from the northeast trade winds, which could potentially provide hundreds of megawatts of power.

Additionally, the country sees nearly 12 hours of sun everyday throughout the year, which makes solar power another promising energy source, Maynard said. It is “very critical for us to develop that particular source,” he said.

Currently, 96-98% of Saint Kitts and Nevis’ energy is fossil fuel based, he said. However, the country hopes to increase its renewable energy to 40% within a year and a half, based on projects currently in progress.

By 2030, the country intends to be completely reliant on renewable energy, the minister said. “We see Taiwan as an integral partner in helping us to achieve that.”

Hanley is leading a delegation, which includes Maynard, Ambassadors-at-large Kenneth Douglas and Leon Natta-Nelson, and permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education Lisa-Romayne Pistana, on a five-day trip around Taiwan to bolster bilateral ties. He will depart on May 12.

Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1983, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Taiwan have closely cooperated in areas such as healthcare, education, tourism, information and communications technology, women's empowerment, climate resilience, and sustainable development, per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The achievements of this collaboration have benefited the people of both countries, it said.