TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was the driving force behind a business seminar in Taichung attended by Palau’s minister of state, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday (Oct. 12).

Gustav Aitaro was invited to the Palau Investment Opportunity Seminar to meet about 30 representatives of the travel, food processing, bakery, precision machinery, construction, and import and export sectors Friday (Oct. 11). The event was organized by MOFA and co-sponsored by Taichung City Government.

Investors from Taiwan could expect positive conditions and the necessary assistance, according to MOFA. As one of Taiwan’s 12 official diplomatic allies, Palau’s tourism sector had been threatened by a boycott from China, but Taiwan had responded by promising more tourism and deepened cooperation in general.

MOFA named the Taichung seminar as the latest example of Taiwan’s interest in trade and investment with Palau. Earlier this year, the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce (WTCC) sent a delegation to the Pacific island nation, and invited its president, Surangel Whipps Jr., to attend their annual meeting in Kaohsiung in September.

Aitaro and his delegation were scheduled to visit Kaohsiung on Saturday before returning home on Sunday (Oct. 13). Their visit also included the signing of a sister city agreement between Melekeok State in Palau and Taichung.