Foreign Minister and acting Special Presidential Envoy Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is currently leading an industry delegation to the Marshall Islands, one of Taiwan's diplomatic allies. On Wednesday, April 8, he shared the delegation's progress, including an inspection of the Marshall Islands' new parliament building site, along with wishes for the project to proceed smoothly.

Lin's first stop was a trip to pay respects to Amata Kabua, the first Marshallese president, in line with tradition. Following this visit, Lin presented his credentials to Marshallese President Hilda C. Heine.

Heine expressed appreciation for the strong Taiwan-Marshall Islands relationship, saying she looked forward to deepening cooperation across multiple fields. Lin echoed the president's statements, thanking Heine and the Marshall Islands for the many benefits shared by people of both countries. Lin said he hoped this visit would lead to even more concrete cooperative outcomes and strengthened ties in trade and investment.

The foreign minister then visited the construction site of the new parliament building alongside Legislative Speaker Brenson Wase. The Marshall Islands' original parliament building, also known as the Nitijela, was severely damaged by fire in mid-2025, with reconstruction efforts ongoing ever since. Taiwan is cooperating with the United States to jointly fund the reconstruction project, as explained by Foreign Ministry East Asian and Pacific Affairs Department Director General Michael Chau-Horng Lin (林昭宏). 

“Regarding the Marshall Islands Parliament building reconstruction project, the U.S. government is the main donor providing US$13 million, while Taiwan and other countries provide [project] support,” he said.

Those funds for the parliamentary reconstruction, as well as Taiwan's involvement in the project, were outlined in the U.S. Partnership with the Republic of the Marshall Islands fact sheet, published in September.