TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Belize Prime Minister John Briceno led a delegation to visit I-Mei’s Longtan Factory in Taoyuan on Tuesday (May 21).

The prime minister was accompanied by high-ranking officials such as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Education, Culture, Science and Technology Francis Fonseca and Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard. The group also attended President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) inauguration to show support between Belize and Taiwan.

The delegation inspected I-Mei’s oil extraction equipment, freeze-dry system, and warehouse. Briceno also had a chance to operate one of its drones, with the prime minister making a successful landing.

After the tour, Briceno said he was impressed with I-Mei’s facilities, drone tech, and team. The prime minister expressed particular interest in I-Mei’s cooling silos, which help cut electricity costs.

Briceno highlighted Belize as a hub for Central American and Caribbean countries and touted its strong agricultural exports like bananas and mangoes.

I-Mei CEO Luis Ko (高志明) said that given the increasing importance of AI and cybersecurity, Taiwan and Belize could cooperate on this aspect. Ko also said more companies are relying on drones and Belize could benefit from this tech.

Ko thanked the delegation for their time and invited them to visit again.

*I-Mei is the parent company of Taiwan News.