Taiwan forges ties with Egypt

After severing ties for more than four decades, Taiwan and Egypt will exchange representative offices to boost bilateral relations. Taiwan is set to form an economic and cultural office in Cairo as early as end of this month, making it the island's first representative office in North Africa, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is a major progress for Taiwan's foreign relations, because Egypt plays an important role in the Arabic countries," Taiwan's foreign minister Tien Hung-mao told reporters. Egypt, which cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1956, will still maintain its ties with Beijing. The exchange doesn't mean Egypt is unfriendly or hostile to China," the minister said, UPI reports.