Malawi to maintain ties with Taiwan

Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika said Thursday that his country will maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Speaking at Lilongwe airport shortly before his departure for the first ever Taiwan-Africa summit beginning Sunday in Tapei, Mutharika said the African nation would not abandon Taiwan for China.

"We have received numerous assistances from Taiwan and we will maintain the diplomatic relations between us and Taiwan," he said.

The African continent is a diplomatic battleground for Taipei and Beijing.

"Malawi has never had relations with China and we cannot start comparing how much aid it gives to other African countries in relation to what we get from Taiwan," said Mutharika.

The summit aims to seek new areas of future cooperation between Africa and Taiwan, Taiwan embassy spokesman Daniel Chang told AFP.

Technological development, health, welfare, economic sustainability and development will all be discussed at the summit, he said.

Taiwan has diplomatic relations with five African countries: Malawi, Swaziland, Sao Tome and Principe, Burkina Faso and Gambia.

Taiwan has assisted Malawi in the areas of agriculture, health, education and infrastructure development.