Haitian Ambassador Eyes Stronger Security Ties With Taiwan
Taiwan and Haiti will mark 70 years of diplomatic ties in 2026. In an exclusive interview with Zoom In Zoom Out, Haiti’s ambassador to Taiwan, Roudy Stanley Penn, shares his views on the current state of bilateral relations, outlines his top priorities for his second term under President Lai Ching-te’s administration and addresses the pressing domestic challenges Haiti’s government is facing.
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As Haiti prepares to mark 70 years of diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2026, its ambassador in Taipei, Roudy Stanley Penn, says the Caribbean nation’s top priority is security — and he hopes Taiwan will be part of the solution.
“Haiti–Taiwan diplomatic relationship is actually one of the strongest diplomatic examples that Taiwan can expose to the world,” Penn said in an interview with Zoom In Zoom Out. “Since the beginning of our diplomatic relations in 1956, we have never at any moment in our history switched from recognizing Taiwan to non-recognizing.”
Penn, who recently began his second term as ambassador, said his focus is to deepen cooperation with Taiwan in areas that could help stabilize Haiti. “What we need now is to find a way to cooperate with Taiwan in security to help solve the problem in Haiti,” he said. “We need equipment. We need weapons. We need strategies. We need also good instructors from these countries to help us address the security issue.”
Gang violence has gripped Haiti for years, overwhelming police and forcing international organizations to step in. The United Nations Security Council recently approved a resolution to send a multinational security mission, and Penn said Taiwan could also contribute expertise as it strengthens its own defenses. “Taiwan can be a good partner because Taiwan is actually investing in security,” he said. “While they are working on their own security problem, they can also work with other partners to make a strong alliance.”
The ambassador praised President Lai Ching-te’s “pragmatic” foreign policy, saying it provides common ground for collaboration. “He emphasized on security, and it’s still the same thing,” Penn said. “The fact that he emphasized on security — this is something that we can work with him.”
While Haiti remains one of Taiwan’s 12 formal allies, its fragile political environment and economic struggles make the relationship sensitive. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung has said that maintaining ties with Haiti and the Vatican requires “considerable effort.” Penn said he understood the comment as a call for “extra attention.”
“Haiti has needs,” he said. “We need jobs for our people. We need Taiwan to help us make more manufacturers, help us by investing in Haiti, help us by sharing knowledge and technologies.”
Still, Penn acknowledged that not all Haitian politicians share his views. “We need to know, in Haiti, it’s not like all the population are for Taiwan,” he said. “Some political leaders believe that we should have relations with other countries instead of Taiwan. But mostly our political elite believe having relations with Taiwan is not only transactional. It’s a relation based on democracy, freedom, sovereignty and the pursuit of dignity.”
Penn added that China has not pressured Haiti to switch allegiance. “We cannot say that we have relations with China. But China does not make pressure on Haiti at all,” he said. “Even though they are present in Haiti, Haiti is still a sovereign state. Our people now stand for democracy and stand for Taiwan because we support the dignity, the freedom and the sovereignty of Taiwan as a small state as we are.”
Asked why Haiti has remained so committed to Taiwan, Penn pointed to shared values and history. “Haiti is so committed to Taiwan not because it is Taiwan, but because Taiwan is a democracy,” he said. “We know what Taiwan is living. We know what it means to be unrecognized by our peers, like living under the pressure of great powers.”
Despite ongoing instability, Penn said Haiti’s friendship with Taiwan endures — and with new cooperation on security and development, he hopes it will emerge stronger by the 70th anniversary.
