Taipei, April 28 (CNA) Health Ministers of Taiwan and the United States held a 30-minute teleconference late Monday night (Taiwan time) as the U.S. pledged its full support of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as well as World Health Organization (WHO) meetings and events.
Taiwan’s Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) expressed his appreciation of the U.S.’ collaboration with Taiwan on fighting the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the brief teleconference with Alex Azar, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a press release issued by Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Azar reiterated that the U.S. will continue its full support of Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and global affairs in the area of public health, so that Taiwan could share its expertise with the world.
Among the attendees of the meeting were Brent Christensen, Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) and Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), director-general of Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC), according to the press release.
"This morning I spoke with Minister Chen of Taiwan regarding the #COVID19 outbreak. I thanked him for Taiwan's efforts to share their best practices and resources with the U.S.," Azar wrote in a Twitter post after the conversation.
"Now, more than ever, global health partnership is crucial and I appreciate Taiwan's contributions." Azar added.
This year’s WHA is scheduled to convene in Geneva, Switzerland between May 17 and 21.
(By Chris Wang)
https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202004285001
