President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 2 with a delegation of parliamentarians from Israel's Knesset and expressed his hope that this trip to Taiwan will help create closer relations between the two countries.
The president remarked that both Israel and the ROC embrace freedom and democracy, and are experiencing rapid technological development and economic growth. In recent years the two countries have signed 15 cooperative agreements, which he said demonstrates that there is considerable room for development of relations between the two sides.
President Ma recalled that he visited Israel in 1999 as Taipei City mayor and discovered that while Israel has a small population, the entire nation was making every effort to promote economic and technological development. During the trip he visited Israel's main science and technology research institutes, and also toured well-known science parks. After he returned to Taipei, he initiated the construction of a science park next to Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in Taipei to make science education more accessible to everyone.
Turning to trade and economic ties, the president noted that bilateral trade last year stood at US$1.2 billion, and added that there is significant room for this figure to grow. In the area of cultural ties, President Ma said that during his visit to Jerusalem he signed a cultural cooperation agreement with Ehud Olmert, who was then mayor of that city. Mr. Olmert's wife was later invited to Taipei as a visiting artist. At the same time, he dispatched building restoration experts to Israel to learn how to maintain historic structures. The president commented that this interaction indicates that there are many areas in which the two sides can cooperate.
President Ma told the visitors that since taking office in May 2008 he has actively sought to improve relations with mainland China. Over this period, Taiwan and mainland China have signed 15 agreements, and incipient signs of peace have emerged in the Taiwan Strait. The president said he hopes this will pave the way for Israel to enhance its relations with Taiwan, and stated his belief that this would be beneficial not only to both nations, but also for the region.
The Knesset delegation included members Carmel Shama Hacohen, Alex Miller, and Robert Tiviaev. They, along with Israel's representative to the ROC Simona Halperin, were accompanied to the Presidential Office by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Thomas T.S. Cheng to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Tung Kuo-yu.