President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of September 30 with former French Prime Minister Edith Cresson and a delegation from the French National Assembly's France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group. In addition to thanking the visitors for their longstanding support for Taiwan, the president called for continued strengthening of interaction and cooperation between the two sides.
In remarks, the president noted that former Prime Minister Cresson is the only female prime minister in French history. This visit marks the highest level visit to Taiwan by a delegation from the French Socialist Party (PS) since the PS came to power in 2012, which makes this trip all the more meaningful, he said.
President Ma commented that the ROC and France maintain close interaction, and mentioned cooperation in the area of technology as an example, noting that Taiwan has more technology cooperation with France than any other nation in Europe. Over the past year, he said, the two sides have cooperated on over 60 projects, including research into robotics and green energies, and achieved many accomplishments. With respect to economic and trade ties, the president pointed out, France is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner in Europe, while Taiwan is France's fifth largest trading partner in Asia. Bilateral trade last year reached about €4.2 billion, and the volume of trade continues to increase, he said.
As for cultural and educational ties, President Ma stated, Taiwan and France have signed over 200 cooperative agreements involving schools and institutions of higher education. Each year, he said, about 50 French films are screened in Taiwan, more than any other country in Asia. In addition, the president mentioned, the film Stray Dogs, a Taiwan-French film directed by Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮), won the Grand Jury Prize at the 70th Venice Film Festival this year.
On the topic of tourism, President Ma said that in 2011 the European Union (EU) and France's 11 overseas territories granted visa-free treatment to ROC nationals, and since then the number of Taiwanese tourists visiting France has risen by 30%. He expressed his deep desire for the two countries to sign a youth working holiday agreement, which would enable a specified number of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 from each nation to visit the other for working holidays of up to one year. The president said that he was extremely pleased that progress is being made regarding such an agreement. He also expressed hope that Taiwan and France can build on their close and wide-ranging ties to further strengthen political and diplomatic relations.
With respect to cross-strait relations, the president said, he has strived to improve relations with mainland China since taking office in 2008. To date, the two sides have signed 19 agreements, thus bringing about greater peace and prosperity than at any other time in the past 60 years, and spurring stronger economic cooperation between Taiwan and important trading partners such as Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States. Also, warmer relations between Taiwan and mainland China, and a friendlier attitude in the international community toward Taiwan, have created opportunities for it to participate in international organizations and activities, he commented, pointing out that this year marks the fifth consecutive year that Taiwan has attended the World Health Assembly. Taiwan has also become a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement, he said, and a representative from Taiwan is presently attending the 38th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal, the ROC's first time at the assembly since it lost its United Nations seat 42 years ago.
President Ma also expressed his deepest appreciation on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan for former Prime Minister Cresson's longstanding support for Taiwan, and said that the two countries now have a golden opportunity to improve their relationship. He stated that he hopes the visitors will come away from this trip with a better understanding of Taiwan, and that this will further enhance bilateral cooperation and interaction.
In addition to former Prime Minister Cresson, the delegation included France-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group Deputy Chairman Jean-Pierre Decool, Vice President Odile Saugues of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Vice President Daniel Fasquelle of the Committee on Economic Affairs. The delegation was escorted to the Presidential Office by French Office in Taipei Director Olivier Richard 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).