Taiwan Foreign Ministry Seeks NT$43.4 Billion Budget, With Secret Funds Up Nearly 40%

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry is seeking more than NT$43.4 billion in spending for the next fiscal year, with classified funds rising sharply to NT$2.4324 billion. The classified allocation would account for about 5.36% of the ministry’s budget and increase by roughly 38.3% from the previous year.

The proposed budget totals NT$43.413447 billion. General administration would receive NT$9.832967 billion, while overseas missions would receive NT$4.037622 billion. International conferences and exchanges are allocated NT$3.546735 billion.

The largest listed category is international cooperation and humanitarian support, at nearly NT$23 billion. The budget also includes NT$2.4324 billion in classified foreign-affairs spending, compared with NT$1.758802 billion in the previous fiscal year.

A separate plan would direct NT$10 billion toward establishing a Taiwan Industrial Innovation Park in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The project aims to attract Taiwanese businesses to invest in the African country, create jobs, support industrial clustering and raise the value and scale of its regional economy. The budget proposal has been sent to Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan.