President Ma Ying-jeou met with François Brottes, Chairman of the France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, on the morning of July 28 at the Presidential Office. Congressman Brottes is leading a delegation from the friendship group on a trip to Taiwan. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed a warm welcome to the parliamentarians on their visit here.
The president stated that the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and mainland China carries important meaning for Taiwan in trade and foreign investment. He said that Taiwan is currently recruiting companies from throughout the world to invest here. The president noted that investments by the 20-plus nations of the European Union (EU) in aggregate comprise the largest amount of foreign investment here. He expressed his hopes that EU nations will take advantage of this opportunity to further invest here, helping to transform Taiwan into a hub in the Asia-Pacific region. The president stressed that Taiwan's optimal geographic position and its cultural and linguistic advantages make it an excellent springboard to the rest of the region, which is a very positive factor in trade and economic relations between Taiwan and France.
President Ma commented that Taiwan and France have maintained close ties in the areas of economy, culture, technology and tourism. Taiwan is France's fifth-largest trading partner in East Asia, with bilateral trade last year amounting to US$3.2 billion. In addition, the two sides have signed 11 agreements, while 56 cooperative projects are currently underway. In the area of higher education, there are 165 exchange student and joint research programs between the two sides. President Ma expressed his hopes that the bilateral economic and cultural ties will continue to grow.
The president expressed his appreciation to the EU for welcoming the signing of the ECFA and for France's support of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly. He said he hopes that in the future the two sides will further exchange opinions on economic, trade and other issues, and in particular the Trade Enhancement Measures (TEM) promoted by the EU.
Chairman Brottes and other members of the friendship group delegation were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Deputy Foreign Minister Lyushun Shen to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu.