President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of July 30 with a delegation from the Taiwan-Spain Parliamentary Friendship Association of Spain. In addition to extending a warm welcome to the delegation, the president also expressed hope that the two sides in the near future will sign a youth working holiday agreement and an avoidance of double taxation agreement, thereby helping to further strengthen the existing cordial relationship.
In remarks, President Ma stated that this is the fourth visit to the ROC by Congress of Deputies Members Francisco Vano Ferre and Antonio Gutierrez Molina, both of whom are extremely familiar with Taiwan. The other members of the delegation are visiting Taiwan for the first time, and the president hopes that this visit will enable them to gain a deeper understanding of the ROC and forge a foundation for the development of bilateral relations in a wide variety of areas.
President Ma remarked that Mr. Vano Ferre has served as association president since the parliaments of the two nations jointly founded the friendship association in November 2008, with membership now exceeding 80 parliamentarians. Mr. Vano Ferre and Mr. Gutierrez Molina in 2013 jointly sent a letter to the International Civil Aviation Organization to support observer status for Taiwan in that body. Earlier this year, they also, on behalf of the association, sent a letter to Spain's minister of foreign affairs and cooperation to support the negotiation and signing of a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) and an economic cooperation agreement (ECA) between Taiwan and the European Union (EU). The president pointed out that on July 31 the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will confer the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy on Mr. Vano Ferre in recognition of his long-term efforts to promote friendship with the ROC. With Mr. Vano Ferre leading the association, the president said that he is confident that ROC-Spain relations will become even closer and friendlier in the future.
Discussing bilateral economic and trade relations, President Ma commented that Spain is Taiwan's sixth largest trading partner in Europe, with bilateral trade last year reaching nearly US$2 billion, up 30% from the previous year's trade volume of US$1.52 billion. In 2006 what was then known as Taiwan's National Science Council (now the Ministry of Science and Technology) signed a framework agreement on technology cooperation with the Spanish National Research Council, which provided for the joint funding and execution of short-term cooperation projects and personnel exchanges. The 19th joint meeting of the Taiwan-Spain Business Cooperation Committee was held in Madrid in May of this year, which was extremely beneficial to the expansion of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Moreover, many renowned cultural and arts groups from Taiwan regularly hold performances in Spain, with one example being the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, which participated in the Grec Festival of Barcelona in 2009, he said.
President Ma mentioned that the ROC has already signed youth working holiday agreements with the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, and Hungary, and these agreements have been quite a success. He hopes that the ROC and Spain can also sign a similar agreement in the near future, along with an avoidance of double taxation agreement, to promote closer bilateral interaction and exchanges. He would also like to see the negotiation and signing of a BIA and an ECA with the EU to further promote the development of bilateral economic and trade ties.
The president recalled that during a visit he made to Barcelona in 2004 he toured many historical sites and buildings from Roman times, and said that the lovely scenery, artistic atmosphere and comprehensive preservation of historical sites made a deep impression on him. Spain's cuisine also has a history dating back 2,000 years and the Spanish people are very particular about the utensils they use for cooking, highlighting Spain's position as one of the world's great culinary nations, he said.
Also in the delegation were Congress of Deputies Members Andres Jose Ayala Sanchez, Rogelio Araujo Gil, Maria Aranzazu Miguelez Pariente, Gema Conde Martinez, and Senator Tomas Pedro Burgos Beteta.