During a meeting on the morning of July 17 with a delegation from the German Bundestag's Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development, President Ma Ying-jeou stated that the ROC government hopes the European Union (EU) and Germany will support negotiations between Taiwan and the EU on an economic cooperation agreement.
In remarks, the president stated that relations between Taiwan and Germany have grown steadily in recent years. Germany is Taiwan's largest trading partner in Europe and its ninth largest in the world, while Taiwan is Germany's fifth largest trading partner in Asia, with bilateral trade reaching US$13 billion last year. In addition, the president noted, Taiwan and Germany maintain close cooperative relationships in the fields of technology, culture, education, and energy. For instance, seven of Taiwan's 15 grand justices studied in Germany, and some 1,200 Taiwanese students are now studying there. At the same time, several hundred German students are studying in Taiwan. Taiwan and Germany in 2010 signed a working holiday program for Taiwanese and German youth, which has been extremely popular here, he said. Also, Taiwan's Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) lived in Germany for many years. This makes her the perfect spokeswoman for cultural activities, the president said.
President Ma explained that since taking office in 2008 he has sought peace in the Taiwan Strait, and relations between Taiwan and mainland China have improved significantly, with the two sides to date having signed 19 agreements, he said. These agreements have brought peace and prosperity to the Taiwan Strait, he added.
President Ma commented that Taiwan and New Zealand signed an Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC) on July 10, 2013. This is the first quasi-free trade agreement that Taiwan has signed with a nation with which it does not maintain diplomatic relations, he said, adding that the agreement will benefit Taiwan tremendously by liberalizing trade and enabling Taiwan to take part in regional economic integration. In fact, he noted, Taiwan had sought to sign such an agreement with New Zealand before, but without success. However, the president stated, cross-strait relations improved after he took office, which helped to reduce impediments to the realization of such a pact. In particular, he said, Taiwan and New Zealand were able to complete negotiations on the agreement in just one year and two months. The president praised and thanks negotiators from both sides for getting the agreement negotiated and signed in such a rapid fashion.
President Ma stressed that Taiwan and Japan previously signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement and that Taiwan hopes to negotiate and sign a bilateral investment agreement with the United States. Furthermore, he remarked, negotiations between Taiwan and Singapore on an economic cooperation agreement are likely to come to fruition in the near future. He urged the EU and Germany to support the negotiation of an economic cooperation agreement between Taiwan and the EU.
In discussing Taiwan's participation in the international community, the president pointed out that the Taipei Flight Information Region provides air traffic control services to some 1.3 million flights passing through Taiwan's air space each year. Unfortunately, however, Taiwan is unable to receive up-to-the-minute information from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), This should be addressed, both for Taiwan's sake and for the safety of aircraft passing through airspace here. Consequently, he expressed strong hope that Taiwan can join the ICAO.
The president also mentioned that Taiwan has consistently embraced a foreign affairs policy of resolving disputes in a peaceful manner. For instance, he mentioned, in April of this year Taiwan and Japan signed a fisheries agreement which resolved a 40-year controversy between the two sides. He stated that many countries have formally or informally expressed support for the East China Sea Peace Initiative that he unveiled last year. Key individuals expressing support for the initiative have included Catherine Ashton (High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) and Herman Van Rompuy (President of the European Council). President Ma said that Taiwan got its inspiration for this initiative from Europe's experience in the 1969 North Sea Continental Shelf cases. The president commented that in the future Taiwan will continue to use similar means to resolve controversies.
The delegation, which was led by the Bundestag's Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development Chairman Ernst Hinsken, was accompanied to the Presidential Office by German Institute Taipei Deputy Director General Mirko Kruppa to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊), and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平).