The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA; ) is a cabinet-level ministry of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, officially the Republic of China (ROC), and is responsible for the ROC's diplomacy and

foreign relations Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

. It is headquartered in the capital

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. The incumbent minister is

Lin Chia-lung Lin Chia-lung (; born 13 February 1964) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan since 20 May 2024. He previously served as Secretary General to the President of Taiwan from 2023 t ...

, who took office in 2024 and is a member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

. 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 A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, in order to protect the rights and interests of overseas compatriots, promote

international cooperation In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Multilateralism is based on the principles of inclusivity, equality, and cooperation, and aims to foster a more peaceful, prosperous, an ...

, 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 The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations p ...

. As of July 2024, the ROC has official diplomatic relations with 11 UN member states and the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Due to the

One China ''One China'' is a phrase describing the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) based on mainland China, and the Republic of China (ROC) based on the Taiwan Area. "One China" asserts that there is only one ''de jure'' Ch ...

policy, the ROC also maintains more than 110

diplomatic missions A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

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 The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

Administration

MOFA is composed of the following departmental structures:

Departmental Structure

* 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 The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is a bureau of the United States Department of State reporting to the under secretary of state for management. The mission of the Bureau is to administer laws, formulate regulations and implement policies rel ...

* 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

Budget

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.

Diplomatic relations

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan 20080811

The Republic of China has diplomatic relations with 12 countries.

Oceania

* * *

North America

* * * * * *

South America

Africa

Europe

Representative offices abroad

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. The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was formed in 2021, and it was the first representative office in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

to bear a name that includes the word “Taiwan.”

Foreign missions in Taiwan

* 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 An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...

Ministers

Access

The MOFA building is accessible by NTU Hospital Station of the

Taipei Metro Taipei Metro (also known as Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and branded as Metro Taipei) is a rapid transit system operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation serving the capital Taipei and New Taipei City in Taiwan. It was the first rapi ...

on the Red Line.

References

External links

* {{portalbar, Taiwan, China 1861 establishments in China 1912 establishments in China

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

Foreign relations of Taiwan Ministries established in 1861 Ministries established in 1912