Parliament Signs Record of Donation of Grant from the Republic of China (Taiwan) for Renovations of the National Assembly Building

On December 5, 2023, parliamentarians of the National Assembly of Belize officially recognized a donation that the Republic of China (Taiwan) will make toward substantial renovations of the National Assembly building in Belmopan. The Government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) have committed to a donation of US$792,125.30, which will be used to modernize the infrastructure of National Assembly building.
The ceremony took place in front of the National Assembly building and had as invited guests the Prime Minister, Members of parliament, the Cabinet Secretary, Chief Executive Officers, the technical team from the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing (MIDH), heads of government departments, Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), members of the Board of the George Price Center, and former presiding officers among other distinguished guests.
The Vice-President of the Senate, Senator, Hon. Collet Montejo, welcomed everyone to the ceremony and emphasized that the renovation of the building is in line with the vision of the Presiding Officers and the National Assembly, to make the building more accessible to members of parliament and the public. Remarks on the donation were provided by the Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Lily Li-Wen Hsu. Mr. Colin Escalante, Project Engineer from MIDH, provided a brief scope of the intended renovation works.
The keynote address was delivered by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Hon. John Briceño, who reiterated the long-standing diplomatic friendship between the two governments. Speaker Valerie Woods, in her closing remarks, informed that the National Assembly will be moving temporarily to the George Price Center in April 2024, for the duration of the works which will take about 10 months. Speaker Woods ended her presentation by expressing her gratitude on behalf of parliament to the Ambassador and government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for having made the donation.