Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan)

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs

外交部 Wàijiāobù (Mandarin) Gōa-kau-pō͘ (Taiwanese)
Seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外交部印)
Agency overview
Formed	March 11, 1861 (Zongli Yamen)[1] January 1, 1912 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Jurisdiction	Taiwan
Headquarters	Zhongzheng District, Taipei 25°2′20.2″N 121°30′58.78″E / 25.038944°N 121.5163278°E / 25.038944; 121.5163278
Employees	About 2,000
Annual budget	About $30 billion NTD
Minister responsible	Lin Chia-lung, Minister
Deputy Ministers responsible	Roy Chun Lee (Deputy Minister) Tien Chung-kwang (Deputy Minister) Alexander Yui (Vice Minister)
Agency executive	Daniel Tang, Secretary-General
Parent agency	Executive Yuan
Website	en.mofa.gov.tw

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (abbreviated MOFA; Chinese: 外交部; pinyin: Wàijiāobù; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gōa-kau-pō͘) is a cabinet-level ministry of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), and is responsible for the ROC's diplomacy and foreign relations. It is headquartered in the capital Taipei. The incumbent minister is Lin Chia-lung, who took office in 2024 and is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Article 141 of the ROC Constitution provides: "The foreign policy of the Republic of China shall, in a spirit of independence and initiative and on the basis of the principles of equality and reciprocity, cultivate good neighborliness with other nations, and respect treaties and the Charter of the United Nations, in order to protect the rights and interests of overseas compatriots, promote international cooperation, advance international justice and ensure world peace." In accordance with the Constitution, MOFA is committed to defending ROC sovereignty and national interests, implementing foreign policy that enhances Taiwan's prosperity and international status.

The Ministry is in charge of maintaining relations with foreign countries excluding the People's Republic of China, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Mainland Affairs Council. As of July 2024, the ROC has official diplomatic relations with 11 UN member states and the Holy See. Due to the One China policy, the ROC also maintains more than 110 diplomatic missions in the form of 13 embassies, a consulate-general, more than 90 semi-official representative offices, and a permanent mission to the World Trade Organization.

MOFA is composed of the following departmental structures:^[2]

• Secretariat
• Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
• Department of West Asian and African Affairs
• Department of European Affairs
• Department of North American Affairs
• Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs
• Department of Treaty and Legal Affairs
• Department of International Organizations
• Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs
• Department of International Information Services
• Department of Policy Planning
• Department of Protocol
• Department of General Affairs
• Department of Personnel
• Department of Civil Service Ethics
• Department of Accounting
• Department of Archives, Information Management and Telecommunications
• Public Diplomacy Coordination Council
• Department of NGO International Affairs
• The Office of Parliamentarian Affairs
• Bureau of Consular Affairs
• Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs
• Taiwan–Japan Relations Association
• Coordination Council for North American Affairs
• Central Taiwan Office
• Southern Taiwan Office
• Eastern Taiwan Office
• Southwestern Taiwan Office

According to statistics published by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics for Fiscal Year 2011, the budget for MOFA is equivalent to approx. 10.37% of the budget for the Ministry of National Defense (MND). The MND budget for 2011 has been announced to be US$9.2 billion. Hence, an estimated MOFA budget figure for Fiscal Year 2011 is US$954 million.

The Republic of China has diplomatic relations with 12 countries.^[3]

•  Palau
•  Tuvalu
•  Marshall Islands

•  Guatemala
•  Belize
•  Haiti
•  Saint Kitts and Nevis
•  Saint Lucia
•  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

•  Paraguay

•  Eswatini^[4]

•  Vatican City

For countries with which Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations, representation is often referred to as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representatives Office or Taipei Representative Offices, which serve the same function as embassy or consulate.^[5]

The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was formed in 2021, and it was the first representative office in Eastern Europe to bear a name that includes the word “Taiwan.”^[6]

• Embassy of Saint Christopher and Nevis
• Embassy of Belize
• Embassy of the Republic of Palau
• Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Embassy of the Kingdom of Eswatini
• Apostolic Nunciature

The MOFA building is accessible by NTU Hospital Station of the Taipei Metro on the Red Line.

• Minister of Foreign Affairs (Republic of China)
• Foreign relations of the Republic of China

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Republic of China).

• Official website (in Chinese)