Taipei, March 1 (CNA) Taiwan's International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to further develop sustainable resources.
The Sustainable Resource Initiative "will further lift collaboration (between the two sides)," especially in the areas of energy and resource efficiency and environmental conservation, said Sir Suma Chakrabarti, the bank's president, who is paying his first visit to Taiwan.
The regional focus for this initiative would be to target "early transition countries," in Central Asia, the Western Balkans and North Africa, he told CNA during an interview.
The EBRD chief added that his three-day visit is meant to celebrate the successful, long-time relationship with Taiwan and to look forward to further cooperation using the island's expertise, such as in developing public transport systems.
"I'm certainly impressed by what I've seen in the past 24 hours," Chakrabarti said, adding that his earlier visit to the traffic control center of Taipei's Mass Rapid Transit system made him believe that Taiwan is a world-leader in public transportation.
"I admired, and anyone in Europe would admire, what has been achieved in less than 20 years in terms of the mass transport system in Taipei," noted Chakrabarti .
In addition, Taiwan's knowledge economy, combined with its information and communications technology, as well as energy efficiency technologies such as light-emitting diode lights and smart meters, impressed him deeply, Chakrabarti said.
Taiwanese companies can use their strengths to tap into Central Asian and Southeast Asian countries, which he describes as "not as well-known as they should be," but he believes they will become future sources of economic growth following the European debt crisis.
Central Asia, for example, is expected to post a 6.9 percent economic growth in 2013, compared with one year ago, he predicted.
Further, Taiwanese funding has provided vital support to the EBRD since the bank's establishment in 1991. Funding for technical assistance has benefited all countries of operations and stands at some US$34 million used in 238 projects to-date, according to the bank.
Additionally, 14 local firms have executed 25 projects in the EBRD's countries of operations, with business generated from those projects exceeding US$66 million, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Asked what his views are on Taiwan's recent debate on whether to continue construction of the island's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, Chakrabarti said each country must very carefully evaluate its own needs.
Taking Ukraine as an example, he said, it is not feasible and extremely expensive to switch from nuclear power to other sources of energy. For the most part, all Ukraine can do is improve safety procedures in their existing nuclear power plants, he added.
(By James Lee)