Ministry of Foreign Affairs Unveils Landmark Headquarters Building in Belmopan

Belmopan. November 6, 2020. 6:30 p.m.

During the last 31 years of formal diplomatic relationship, Taiwan has contributed significantly to the modernization of Belize through the enhancement of human resources development, capacity building, technical assistance and facilitation of Belize’s participation and interaction with international and regional stakeholders.

In this context of robust bilateral cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belize and the Embassy of Taiwan celebrated the unveiling of the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters building in Belmopan, The Leigh Richardson Building, on Thursday, November 5^th. This project marks another milestone in the two countries’ relationship. It establishes the first ever headquarters building for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the history of Belize. The new headquarters is named in honour of the late Belizean nationalist Leigh Isiah Richardson, one of the first Belizeans who represented Belize officially in international affairs abroad.

The Leigh Richardson Building is the second building that the Government of Taiwan gifted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first being the Edward Laing Building in Belize City which was gifted in 2016.

Thursday’s brief ceremony was marked by the conferral of the Grand Medal of Diplomacy by H.E. Remus Li-Kuo Chen, Ambassador of Taiwan to Belize, on Minister Elrington. This was done in recognition of the Minister’s extensive contributions to fostering Belize-Taiwan relations during his 12-year tenure as Belize’s longest serving Foreign Minister.

The Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Government of Belize have enjoyed a long tradition of strong cooperation. Taiwan has been an invaluable partner for Belize in its overall national development goal. As one of Belize’s most trustworthy and cherished development partners, Taiwan also provides support to key areas of Belize‘s development such as agriculture, tourism, health, education, culture, technology, infrastructure, and culture, to mention just a few.

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