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August 25, 2017 (Taipei, Taiwan) – Foreign Minister Mark Brantley and a delegation including Federal Minister Eugene Hamilton and Minister Alexis Jeffers of the Nevis Island Administration, held discussions on August 24 with Deputy Political Minister of Education of Taiwan, Dr. Leehter Yao, on strengthening the collaboration between Saint Kitts and Nevis and Taiwan in the educational sector.

In his remarks, Minister Brantley expressed the interest of the Team Unity Government in increasing scholarship opportunities for the citizens of the Federation and highlighted vocational and teacher training particularly in math, science and technology as possible areas of future cooperation. Deputy Minister Yao assured the delegation that positive consideration could be given to the ideas elaborated by Minister Brantley, adding that specific programmes, including areas such as aqua-culture were already being developed for some South East Asian countries and suggested that the programme could be extended to the Federation. He also stated that the Ministry would welcome students for vocational training and would be happy to explore the possibility of receiving teachers for training as requested by Minister Brantley. 

Minister Brantley and the delegation also visited Taipei Veteran’s Hospital to attend a ceremony marking the completion of a four-week training period for six health professionals from the Federation who were there for short-term training as part of an ongoing capacity building project for the prevention and control of chronic kidney disease (CKD project). The health project, which was inaugurated this year, includes a training component at Veteran’s Hospital. The graduates, whose composition included 2 doctors and 4 nurses, were the first individuals to benefit from the training offered. In his remarks, Minister Brantley informed the gathering that non-communicable diseases had fast become a very serious health issue in the Federation and the wider Caribbean, which therefore under-scored the need for a project of that kind. Other members of the delegation, including Mrs. Nicole Slack-Liburd, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in the Nevis Island Administration, Mr. Kevin Barrett, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education in the Nevis Island Administration and the Superintendent and staff of Veteran’s Hospital also attended the ceremony.