President Tsai meets multi-party delegation from European Parliament
On the morning of April 20, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a multi-party delegation from the European Parliament. In addition to thanking friends in the European Parliament for their long-standing support for Taiwan's international participation, the president called on the European Union to commence negotiations with Taiwan on a bilateral investment agreement as soon as possible in order to create greater economic and trade benefits for both sides.
In remarks, the president first thanked the European Parliament for the many years it has spent supporting Taiwan's international participation, and stressed that Taiwan will not be absent from global public discourse. Hopefully, she said, Taiwan can make bigger contributions on such issues as climate change, humanitarian aid, and cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational crime, for doing so would make Taiwan an indispensable partner in the international community. Through substantive cooperation and meaningful participation in international organizations, Taiwan's government hopes to share Taiwan's experience with the international community. The president also called upon her visitors to communicate this hope to other friends in the European Parliament, and to continue supporting Taiwan.
President Tsai noted that, in addition to being international friends, Taiwan and the European Union also have many possibilities and great potential to engage in economic and trade cooperation. The European Union is Taiwan's fifth-largest trading partner, and European companies are Taiwan's largest source of foreign direct investment. For all of this, the president thanked friends in the European Parliament for the many years they have spent working to enhance economic and trade relations between Taiwan and the European Union. For example, they have adopted a resolution on EU-Taiwan trade relations, thus laying a solid foundation for support within the European Parliament for a Taiwan-EU investment agreement. Also, they have continually urged the European Commission to enter into negotiations with Taiwan.
In addition to once again thanking the members of the European Parliament, the president also expressed hope that the European Parliament will continue urging the European Commission to launch negotiations with Taiwan on an investment agreement as soon as possible. This will benefit both sides by affording more European companies quicker access to Taiwan's markets, and encouraging Taiwanese companies to invest in Europe, she said.
The president also mentioned that Taiwan is vigorously promoting a series of industrial policies, including the development of five major innovative industries—the Asia Silicon Valley program, green energy, the biomedical industry, smart machinery, and defense and aeronautics—as well as new agriculture and the circular economy. The European Union has a lot of experience and resources to share in these areas, and is capable of creating new opportunities. In the future, by conducting policy exchange, working together on technology research and development, and engaging in industrial cooperation, Taiwan and the European Union can together innovate and create higher-quality job opportunities. If the two sides are willing to cooperate, the possibilities are limitless, she said.
Noting that Taiwan and the European Union have a shared commitment to democracy, freedom, rule of law, and human rights, President Tsai expressed confidence that the two sides can continue to enhance relations. She further called on the visitors to support cooperation and development between Taiwan and the European Union in many different fields in order to build a closer partnership.
Included in the delegation were Kathleen Van Brempt (Vice-Chair, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament), Dubravka Suica (Vice-Chair, European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee), and European Parliament members Valentinas Mazuronis, Alyn Smith, Jordi Sole, and Caterina Chinnici.