Taipei, March 7 (CNA)
The Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it has procured a new office in Geneva, Switzerland to enhance Taiwan's mission to engage with the World Trade Organization (WTO), as part of the government's efforts to cut down on rental expenses.
The mission will move into the 3,000-square-meter property in April 2013, said Lee Fang-cheng, director-general of the ministry's Department of General Office.
The mission, called the Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to the WTO, was established after Taiwan became the 144th member of the WTO in 2002.
A delegation of diplomats and officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs is currently stationed in Geneva to handle the nation's WTO affairs.
The office, along with transaction and administration fees, is expected to cost the government less than NT$900 million (US$30.46 million).
The government has been eager to buy an office in Geneva because current rental costs -- NT$60 million per year -- is considered by the government to be too high, he said.
Most of the Foreign Ministry's offices abroad are rented and only 10 percent are owned, he noted.
There are no plans to incorporate Taiwan's mission in Geneva into the new office, as the nature of their work differs, according to a senior ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
(By Nancy Liu)
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