Foreign Minister Lin becomes first foreign minister to visit Geneva during WHA, meets with diplomatic allies

Foreign Minister Lin becomes first foreign minister to visit Geneva during WHA, meets with diplomatic allies

• Date：2026-05-17
• Data Source：Department of International Organizations

May 17, 2026
No. 213

Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung and Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang cohosted a banquet in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 16 for World Health Assembly (WHA) delegations and permanent representatives from diplomatic allies of Taiwan. Minister Lin and Minister Shih expressed appreciation for their continued and steadfast support of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) and exchanged views on related issues with the guests. This marked the first time that Taiwan's minister of foreign affairs and minister of health and welfare had both traveled to Geneva to promote Taiwan's bid for participation. The two ministers engaged in lively interactions with representatives from Taiwan's diplomatic allies during the banquet.

Minister Lin said that the inaugural Taiwan Smart Medical and Health Tech Expo would be held parallel to the WHA this year to showcase Taiwan's achievements in smart medicine, smart technologies, and humanitarian assistance. He noted that it would convey the spirit of Taiwan can help and Taiwan can lead while also aiming to deepen global health cooperation. He stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) had been actively promoting the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project to assist allied nations in enhancing their medical and healthcare capabilities and supporting sustainable development. He added that these efforts had received widespread recognition. Furthermore, he emphasized that during the COVID-19 pandemic and in other times of international need, Taiwan had promptly provided medical supplies, humanitarian aid, and technical assistance, fully demonstrating that Taiwan was a responsible member of the international community and concretely implementing the concept of health without borders.

Minister Lin reiterated that Taiwan was part of the world, that it had the right to participate in global affairs, and that its determination to actively participate in WHO, the WHA, and related mechanisms remained unchanged. He also thanked Taiwan's diplomatic allies for their support and stressed that only through international cooperation could a healthier, more secure, and more resilient world be built.

Minister Shih underscored that Taiwan continued to work with its diplomatic allies to advance medical and health care in such areas as health information, chronic disease prevention and treatment, maternal and infant health, and mental health, thereby seeking to improve global health and well-being. On behalf of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), he thanked the countries for supporting Taiwan's participation in WHO and the WHA. He also sincerely invited their representatives to attend the 2026 Global Health and Welfare Forum in Taiwan to jointly create a digital health future centered on trust.

Speaking at the event on behalf of Taiwan's allies, Palau Vice President and Minister of Health and Human Services Raynold Oilouch stated that all diplomatic allies at the event shared the vision of leaving no one behind. He also recognized Taiwan's long-term contributions in such domains as health care, infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and education, which had strengthened familial-like bonds and partnerships between Taiwan and its diplomatic allies. He called on the international community to support Taiwan's participation in global affairs to ensure Taiwan's voice would be heard. He thanked the countries present for their support of and friendship with Taiwan at such events as the WHA.

The banquet was jointly hosted by Minister Lin and Minister Shih in Geneva and attended by the 11 diplomatic allies of Taiwan that are members of WHO-namely, Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Paraguay, Tuvalu, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The event helped further Taiwan's exchanges and cooperation in medicine and health with diplomatic allies and bolstered their support for Taiwan's international participation. (E)