Taiwan donates US$52,000 for volcano monitoring equipment

Taiwan had donated US$52,000 to St. Vincent and the Grenadines to purchase new monitoring equipment for La Soufriere volcano, which erupted explosively in April 2022.

Taiwan Ambassador to SVG, Peter Sha-Li Lan, handed over the cheque for US$52,259.90 to Hudson Nedd, permanent secretary of the Ministry of National Security.

Lan said Taiwan was with SVG all the way after the COVID-19 pandemic and the volcanic eruption of La Soufriere.

The purchase of this sophisticated monitoring equipment was part of the efforts under the bilateral “Pilot Project for the Implementation of Emergency Management System to Reduce Medical Emergencies in St. Vincent and Grenadines”, which was jointly implemented by the Technical Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and SVG’s National Emergency Management Organisation.

Lan also expressed appreciation to other Taiwanese partners, including the ministries of Foreign Affair, Health and Welfare, Taiwan International Health Action, International Cooperation and Development Fund, National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, and the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, for their support to the project.

The envoy reiterated that the Embassy of Taiwan will continue working closely with Kingstown in its national development and economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and the volcanic eruption.

Meanwhile, Nedd expressed his government’s appreciation to the Taiwanese government for funding the purchase of the new monitoring equipment.

He said despite the current period of when resources around the world are scarce, the government is grateful that Taiwan has continued to work with SVG in terms of cooperation projects and support to the specific needs of the country.

The handover ceremony was held on June 23 after the virtual workshop “Disaster Prevention and Emergency Management in Taiwan” between Taipei and Kingstown, under the above-mentioned project.