Taipei: A government-funded program that annually sends Taiwanese with agricultural expertise overseas for exchanges with local counterparts is now open for applications, with selected "ambassadors" set to visit the Netherlands for the first time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Monday.

According to Focus Taiwan, a total of 16 "Young Agricultural Ambassadors," aged 18-45, will be selected to visit the European country for eight days in November. During this visit, they will engage with their Dutch counterparts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in floriculture, controlled-environment agriculture, livestock farming, and the production and marketing of fruit and vegetables, MOFA stated in a press release.

The annual program, launched in 2017, is co-organized by MOFA and the Ministry of Agriculture to promote exchanges between Taiwan and countries covered by the New Southbound Policy. This policy was initiated in 2016 under then-President Tsai Ing-wen to expand Taiwan's economic, educational, and cultural ties with the 10 ASEAN member states, six South Asian countries, Australia, and New Zealand.

According to MOFA, since the program's inception, 154 ambassadors with expertise in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and animal husbandry have traveled to Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and Thailand. This year marks the first time the annual program is sending delegates to a country outside the New Southbound Policy.