The Caribbean nation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines recently held parliamentary elections where the conservative opposition New Democratic Party, or NDP, secured an overwhelming victory, winning 14 out of 15 contested seats.
NDP Party leader Godwin Friday was inaugurated as Prime Minister on November 29, marking the first change in the country's leadership in 24 years.
Although the NDP had previously proposed ending diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of closer ties with the People's Republic of China, this was not mentioned in their most recent campaign, and the new administration's diplomatic stance remains under scrutiny by Taiwan.
Taiwanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei today noted at a press conference on Tuesday that Taiwan's Ambassador to Saint Vincent, Fan Hui-chun, promptly congratulated both Friday and the newly elected members of parliament. In return, Friday expressed his gratitude and requested that Fan convey his thanks to President Lai.
Hsiao emphasized that Taiwan and Saint Vincent have enjoyed 44 years of good relations and collaboration on agriculture, food security, healthcare, infrastructure, ICT, and women's empowerment.
"Based on the existing fruitful cooperation, we will continue working closely with the new government to deepen bilateral relations," he confirmed.
