President Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday raised the possibility of expanding the scope of Taiwan's training program for government officials of its diplomatic allies, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral friendship. Touching upon the issue during an interview with the selfnews, Ma noted that the 'Friend from Afar' program has targeted mainly military and police officers from Latin American nations and he suggested that the program should also cover broader issues such as economics, agriculture and health. According to the president, such a military-centered training program served the need of the Latin American allies very well in the past because many of these countries were governed by military strongmen. However, many leftist politicians who have since come to power are paying more attention to issues related to the economic development rather than military issues. 'If we share Taiwan's national development experience with them (the allies) , we should be able to move them and truly help them. They will also feel that Taiwan is very pragmatic and grassroots (oriented),' Ma said. The 'Friend from Afar' program was launched as early as the 1960s during the Cold War era as part of Taiwan's campaign to fight against Communism. Courses were provided to help Latin American, Middle Eastern and African countries train their junior military officers, some of whom later became national leaders or politicians. On his administration's foreign aid policy, Ma stressed that in providing aid to Taiwan's allies, the government will make sure that the work serves legitimate purposes, follows legal process and achieves effective implementation. For example, he said, Taiwan has been transferring rice-farming technology to Belize in a bid to boost rice production in the Central American ally country and help it become a rice exporter. Taiwan has also provided Belize with tilapia fish farming technology, and the fish raised using the technology is now being exported to the United States for processing into fish fillets, Ma said. 'We should not only teach our diplomatic allies how to fish, but should also teach them how to sell fish,' he said. Asked about his administration's strategy to promote Taiwan's bid for membership in the United Nations in September, Ma said the government will only decide on the matter in August. According to the president, the government must be very careful in dealing with the issue of Taiwan's participation in international organizations because it is 'more sensitive' than issues involving bilateral relations. Ma added that although the improvement in Taiwan's ties with China over the past year seems to have facilitated the promotion of Taiwan's foreign relations, Taiwan should not be content or light-headed. Pointing to Taiwan's recent success in obtaining observer status for the first time in the World Health Assembly, Ma said the government is watching to see if the status will open the doors for Taiwan's participation in other activities of the World Health Organization (WHO), in addition to attending the annual assembly. Ma said the government will not rush into the next step, but will first try to play a positive role in the WHO to impress other member nations and win their goodwill. In this regard, the influenza A(H1N1) outbreak provides a good opportunity for Taiwan to contribute to the international community, because Taiwan is one of the few countries that are capable of producing a vaccine against the disease, he said. Ma, who will run for the Kuomintang (KMT) chairmanship in July said an annual forum between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party should be kept as a channel for the exchange of views, but he added that 'I will not necessarily take part in it if I am elected as KMT chairman.' 