President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of March 7 met with a delegation led by Ivan Štefanec, Chairman of the Slovak-Taiwanese Parliamentary Friendship Group and Chairman of the Slovakian National Council's Committee on European Affairs. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a warm welcome to the delegation on their visit to Taiwan.
The president commented that this marks the first time he has met a delegation from Slovakia since taking office in May 2008. While the two countries are geographically far from each other, they are alike in their determined pursuit of freedom, democracy, and peace. President Ma expressed his hope that these common ideals and core values will enable relations between the peoples of the two countries to become increasingly close.
The president noted that the visitors on this trip will visit Taiwan's science parks. The Hsinchu Science Park was the first to open 31 years ago, and together with the Southern Taiwan Science Park and the Central Taiwan Science Park last year generated output of US$72.9 billion, accounting for 15% of Taiwan's GDP and providing 220,000 jobs. Output of the three parks this year is expected to rise by over 10% to US$81.3 billion, he remarked. Meanwhile, the parks are poised to generate another 40,000 job opportunities over the coming three years. Science parks, he said, have made a considerable contribution to Taiwan's economic development and have played an important role in the nation's industrial transition from traditional industries such as textiles and light industry to a high-tech based economy.
President Ma noted that Chairman Štefanec is also the head of his nation's small- and medium-sized enterprise association, and that he has spared no effort in promoting the development of trade between the two countries. Small- and medium-sized enterprises account for 98% of companies in Taiwan and are responsible for providing 76% of jobs here, which highlights their importance to Taiwan's economic development. President Ma stated that some of Taiwan's high-tech heavyweights have made investments in Slovakia, which indicates Slovakia has adopted effective strategies to attract foreign investment.
The president expressed his desire for the two countries to sign agreements on customs cooperation, youth working holidays, mutual recognition of driver's licenses, and avoidance of double taxation. This, he explained, would further bridge the distance between the two countries and help to expand tourism and other exchanges.
Chairman Štefanec thanked President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the delegation, and called for broad cooperation and exchanges in a variety of areas to boost interaction between the two countries.
The delegation was 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.