TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan can play a large role in helping Belize achieve its development goals, Belize Prime Minister John Briceno said on Saturday (May 18).

“Taiwan can help us in many ways,” Briceno told Taiwan News. To create a prosperous future for the nation, his administration has launched the “#planBelize” medium development plan, which he called a “North Star.” The first goal is to reduce poverty by 50%, Briceno said. 

The prime minister also said he hoped to reduce Belize’s trade deficit. “We are importing way more than we’re exporting,” he said. 

The country is striving to increase production in agriculture and services and light manufacturing, he said. It is negotiating with Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador to open up markets for its products.

Belize aims to boost employment for its women and youth. Unemployment is now at 3.4%, a large improvement from 15% in November 2020, according to Briceno.

Another pressing issue is citizen security, which Briceno defined as “security from crime” and ensuring “the schools are working, the hospitals are working, as well as parks.” He said he wanted people to “feel secure to be living in Belize.”

With such an ambitious plan, Taiwan can share its technology and experience with Belize, Briceno said. It can also open up its market and help the Central American country “in development and facilitate access to cheap financing for development in housing, infrastructure development, and investment in small businesses,” he added.

Belize is also making its first venture in space development and satellite technology. On May 6, Briceno signed the Constitutive Agreement of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency, facilitating regional space cooperation. 

Briceno said the decision to join the agency was “quite exciting.” The agency would give Belize access to real-time satellite imagery and allow the country to “look at how climate change is affecting us, droughts, forest fires, and border incursions into Belize,” he said.

“Taiwan having access to this technology, I believe that we can try to partner with them,” he added. “Taiwan continues to be one of our most important allies and we certainly appreciate that.”

As Belize continues to progress, Briceno said his fellow nationals were “warm, caring, and resilient” and that they “always believe that tomorrow is going to be better.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Francis Fonseca said Belize works “very closely” with Taiwan’s government and embassy in Belize to bolster trade and investment cooperation. Fonseca said there have been many Belize trade missions to Taiwan and vice versa “mainly in the areas of agriculture and fisheries.”

Belize hopes to expand collaboration with Taiwan in agriculture and is “always interested” in boosting bilateral tourism, Fonseca said. Regarding people-to-people ties, the foreign minister said, “They have deepened quite a bit,” over the past three years. 

He pointed to the numerous Belizean students studying in Taiwan and the high number of Belizean leaders visiting Taiwan, which have allowed for “a much closer relationship in many important areas.” 

Briceno arrived in Taiwan on Saturday to attend President-elect Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) inauguration ceremony on Monday ((May 20). Belize is one of Taiwan's two Central American diplomatic allies.