President Tsai meets Polish parliamentary delegation led by Foreign Affairs Committee Deputy Chair Barbara Bartuś
On the morning of June 19, President Tsai Ing-wen met with a delegation led by Deputy Chair Barbara Bartuś of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Sejm (lower house of parliament) of the Republic of Poland. In remarks, President Tsai stated that in addition to our joint efforts to fight the pandemic, Taiwan and Poland have, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, worked together to address the challenges of authoritarian expansion and to assist Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Going forward, the president said that Taiwan will continue to work with Poland and neighboring countries to assist Ukraine with recovery and reconstruction efforts. She also expressed hope to further deepen our partnerships with Poland across the board.
A translation of President Tsai's remarks follows:
Let me begin by welcoming to Taiwan Deputy Chair Barbara Bartuś and her cross-party delegation, which includes both vice chairs of the Polish-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Group among its eight members of the Sejm. Your visit, following the visit of Polish-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Group Chair Waldemar Andzel last December, is a demonstration of your support for Taiwan, so I want to extend a sincere welcome to you all.
In recent times, Taiwan and Poland have initiated many important joint projects in areas including economic affairs, education, and technology. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Taiwan was facing a shortage of vaccines, Poland donated 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan. This expression of our treasured friendship touched the hearts of the Taiwanese people.
Poland has also actively supported Taiwan's international participation. Last July, the Polish Senate's Foreign and European Union Affairs Committee and its Social Policy and Health Committee met in joint session and unanimously passed a resolution supporting Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization. This April, the 93 members of the cross-party Polish-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Group from both the Senate and the Sejm released a statement in support of Taiwan's international participation. Also this April, during a visit to the United States, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland also publicly expressed support for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. On behalf of the Taiwanese people, I want to thank Poland for recognizing Taiwan's importance and for their friendship.
Over the past few years, Taiwan and Poland not only made joint efforts to fight the pandemic, but last year following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, we also worked together to address the expansion of authoritarianism and assist Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Taiwan will continue to cooperate with Poland and neighboring countries to assist Ukraine with recovery and reconstruction efforts. We look forward to further deepening our partnership with Poland across the board.
During this trip, the delegation will visit Hsinchu Science Park. I am confident that their visit will greatly help expand bilateral cooperation in technology. This Thursday, as Taiwan celebrates Dragon Boat Festival, our guests will also attend dragon boat races. I hope that this rich and varied itinerary will allow them to become more familiar with Taiwan. I welcome you all to visit often, and I wish you a smooth and productive visit.
Deputy Chair Bartuś then delivered remarks, saying that she was delighted to come to Taiwan and that for the visiting delegation, Taiwan is an extremely important cooperative partner. She then introduced President Tsai to the members of the cross-party Sejm delegation, who represent various policy areas.
Deputy Chair Bartuś stated that Taiwan and Poland enjoy good relations. She said that Poland, located in the eastern part of Central Europe, has tremendous economic potential, and that the future establishment of direct flights linking Taiwan and Poland would certainly generate excellent opportunities and help deepen bilateral relations. She also thanked Taiwan for providing extensive aid and support to Ukrainian refugees, and for imposing sanctions on Russia.
Addressing economic issues, Deputy Chair Bartuś stated that Poland is particularly interested in Taiwan's semiconductor industry and hopes that bilateral cooperation is not limited to investments but includes R&D and technology transfers, as well as personnel and training exchanges. In addition, she said that Poland has great potential as Europe's third-largest generator of hydrogen energy, making it well worthwhile to expand cooperation in that area.
Deputy Chair Bartuś also expressed hope that we can strengthen agricultural cooperation. She then noted that Poland has many students from Taiwan, calling it an excellent situation, and said that she looks forward to continuing to develop Taiwan-Poland cooperation in education to advance our bilateral relations.
The delegation also included Sejm members Mieczysław Kasprzak, Joanna Senyszyn, Bartłomiej Dorywalski, Maria Małgorzata Janyska, Andrzej Kryj, Krzysztof Truskolaski, and Robert Warwas.