The United States and Taiwan are enhancing our important cooperation to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We want countries around the world to benefit from the generous contributions and impressive expertise that Taiwan-a vibrant democracy and a force for good-brings to the global community, and improve the health and welfare of their people.
As part of that effort, on June 3, 2020, senior representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), and the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a virtual dialogue to strengthen the coordination of COVID-19 assistance in the Pacific and discuss the "Taiwan model" that has successfully combatted the spread of the virus.
Launched in 2019, the Pacific Islands Dialogue (PID) is a platform for the United States and Taiwan to explore ways to increase our cooperation to meet the development needs of Taiwan's diplomatic partners in the Pacific. Recognizing the significant impact of COVID-19 in the region, convening the virtual PID was an opportunity to identify gaps in COVID-19 assistance and to develop a coordinated response to fill them.
Participants included AIT Director Brent Christensen; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Sandra Oudkirk; USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Ann Marie Yastishock; USAID COVID-19 Task Force Coordinator Dr. Ken Staley; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Sarah Jorgenson; TECRO Representative Stanley Kao; and Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien.
