Taiwan is to dispatch a medical mission to Somaliland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Wednesday, without providing a timeline.

The mission would be part of a medical cooperation agreement with the African country, the ministry said in a news release, adding that the pact was signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Somaliland Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Liban Yousuf Osman via videoconference earlier that day.

The mission would be set up at a hospital in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, to provide training for medical workers and help improve the country’s healthcare capacity, it said.

The pact “enables our #HornOfAfrica friend & partner to boost health care services capacity benefiting the people,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.

Medical cooperation has been a key area of collaboration, Wu said at the signing event in Taipei.

After the two countries established informal bilateral ties in July last year, Taiwan launched the cooperation to address the high fatality rate among pregnant women and newborns in Somaliland.

The ties also included the opening of representative offices in each other’s capital and the appointment of envoys.

Apart from government efforts, Taiwanese civil groups have also contributed to the ties, Wu said, referring to medical volunteers from the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps, and aid provided by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co-affiliated TSMC Charity Foundation and other groups.

Source: Taipei Times