SVG, Tawian sign agreements for Health, IT projects

St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has signed agreements in the areas of health and information technology, with Taiwan as the main financial backer.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of China (Taiwan), Dr David Tawei Lee and SVG, Sir Louis Straker, officially signed two agreements, which will set in motion the implementation of the projects, in a ceremony held last Thursday at the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

SVG having already been on the receiving end of a number of donations from the Taiwanese government, and Taiwan having relied on SVG for support in international forums, both parties used the opportunity to thank each other for the continued support.

Minister for Health, Wellness and the Environment, Luke Browne explained that one of the agreements being signed was a capacity building project for the prevention and control of diabetes. He noted the importance of the accord, in light of the effect the disease has been having in the country. “This is an issue that if we don’t intervene in a strong way, has the potential to spiral out of control,” he commented. “It has been ranked as the third leading cause of death in SVG as of 2016.”

The budget for the project will be just over two million dollars, Browne stated, with most of this being donated by Taiwan. The project’s goals are prevention through “planning effective, integrated care strategies and practices on the prevention and control of diabetes, strengthen the ability of integrated diabetes care in health facilities and improve the self-management of community people for the prevention and control of diabetes.”

Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Information Technology Camillo Gonsalves spoke on the need which is being fulfilled by the second agreement, that of an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) project, which was supported by the simultaneous launch of a smart card system, dubbed the Public Key Infrastructure(PKI) system.

“The upshot is that document sharing between and among the Ministries and the public service, have not advanced into the 21st century. If we want to be a government that embraces the concept of a digital government, and if we want to embrace the concept of e-governance.. we have to do better with basic things like documents,” he stated.

The new system, which is also estimated at around two million dollars will, “insure that documents can be transmitted in the ways that are optimal and that security can be optimal.” The core government sectors which will be the first to implement the system were listed as being the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Service Commissions Department, Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, documents and information in the Customs, Inland Revenue and Tax, and the Treasury.

Minister Lee, who arrived just that morning for a one-day state visit, thanked SVG for its beneficial relationship with Taiwan, “Our two countries lie thousands of miles apart, yet since establishing diplomatic relations in 1981, we have grown ever closer, and our partnership has deepened. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines for their silent support for Taiwan’s international participation over the years.

“I have every confidence that these two programmes will have a positive impact on the lives of our people. They will contribute to your nation’s social development, and welfare,” he declared.

Minister Straker, in turn giving assurances that the friendship will continue in the future, said that he will ensure that their efforts on the projects come to fruition.

“I am confident that through our efforts and commitment, we will have the ability to achieve more, by continuing to develop even stronger bonds of friendship between the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of China(Taiwan), he stated, continuing, “I would also like to take this opportunity to reassure you that the relevant line Ministries will do what is necessary for the successful implementation of both agreements.”(KR)