Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

At noon on October 23, President Tsai Ing-wen hosted a luncheon for a delegation led by Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, speaker of the Seimas (parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania. President Tsai thanked Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen and the government of Lithuania for repeatedly and publicly supporting Taiwan's international participation, demonstrating that Lithuania firmly stands with democratic partners. She expressed her confidence that based on mutual trust and with our combined efforts, Taiwan and Lithuania will undoubtedly strengthen each other's economic resilience, further deepen our partnership, and make an even greater contribution to global peace and prosperity.

A translation of President Tsai's remarks follows:

I welcome Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen and her delegation to Taiwan. Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen has said that the Indo-Pacific region is very important to Lithuania and has often expressed her wish to visit Taiwan. I am delighted to meet with you all at the Presidential Office today.

Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen is the first sitting speaker of the Seimas to visit Taiwan. She will deliver a speech at our Legislative Yuan and give opening remarks at the FinTech Taipei Forum. We look forward to Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen and the rest of the delegation sharing their views on how to advance cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania.

I also want to welcome Vice-Minister of Finance Vaida Markevičienė and the businesses and associations she has brought with her. Your visit will continue to deepen cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania in the fields of finance and digital technology.

In recent years, Taiwan and Lithuania have made substantive progress in bilateral relations. For example, we have established representative offices in each other's countries and actively expanded cooperation in areas such as the laser industry and biotechnology. Taiwan has also assisted Lithuania in building its capacity in the semiconductor industry. Taiwan and Lithuania have become close partners, creating more opportunities for collaboration between our industries.

In addressing the changing geopolitical landscape, Taiwan continues to leverage the Central and Eastern European Investment Fund to bolster economic and trade ties with Lithuania. And this July, Lithuania published its Indo-Pacific Strategy, in which it stated that it is seeking to enhance practical cooperation with Taiwan.

I want to thank Lithuania for its attention to and support for Taiwan. I am especially grateful to Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen and the Lithuanian government for repeatedly and publicly supporting Taiwan's international participation, demonstrating that Lithuania firmly stands with democratic partners. Taiwan and Lithuania are good friends that share the values of freedom and democracy. Lithuanian chocolate, sparkling water, beer, and other products are also very popular here in Taiwan. And not long ago, I watched Lithuania's national basketball team play in Taiwan.

Based on this mutual trust and with our combined efforts, Taiwan and Lithuania will undoubtedly strengthen each other's economic resilience, further deepen our partnership, and make an even greater contribution to global peace and prosperity.

I once again welcome you all. We have prepared some Taiwanese delicacies to give you a taste of Taiwan's culture. I wish you a fruitful visit.

Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen then delivered remarks, a transcript of which follows:

Lithuania values our relations with Taiwan, a like-minded front-line democracy. Our collaboration is built on a solid ground – mutual trust and common values: freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. At the time when the international rule[s]-based order is put to the test by aggressive authoritarian regimes, democracies working together, despite geographical distances, is particularly important.

It has been a couple of years since our bilateral cooperation really took off, and we can register certain progress. And I believe that this cooperation can bring much more and be truly mutually beneficial.

One of the main areas where we see untapped potential is business and economy. Therefore, I came to Taiwan leading a business delegation. We consider Taiwan an important partner in semiconductors, laser technologies, and other high added-value sectors.

In turn, Lithuania has a lot to offer, particularly our sectors of technology and innovation are advancing rapidly. And we could well become Taiwan's gateway to Europe.

I believe that Lithuania's and Taiwan's cooperation can become a success story. Today, one can feel that we are a litmus test for many countries in Europe. Our common efforts, I believe, should prove that democracies working together strengthen each other and offer tangible results for the common good of their people.

As Madam President rightly pointed out, strengthening Lithuanian's ties in the Indo-Pacific region is an important priority for our country. And we see that developing ties with democracies here in this region is our very important theme.

It is heart-warming while being here to see how much support there is to Ukraine. And I would also like to thank Taiwan for that. The future of the rule[s]-based international order is largely decided in Ukraine today, and our common efforts, the efforts of democracies worldwide to stand firmly on Ukraine's side, really matter.

Good cooperation and strengthening the ties with Taiwan is a priority for us. So, once again, thank you for the warm welcome. And I hope that this visit will lead to another breakthrough in our story of success.

The delegation also included Head of the Secretariat of the Seimas Speaker Lukas Kornelijus Vaičiakas, Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the Seimas Speaker Rolandas Kačinskas, Head of the International Relations Unit and Acting Head of the Protocol Unit of the Seimas Snieguolė Žiūkaitė, and Director of the Financial Markets Policy Department of the Lithuanian Finance Ministry Vilma Mačerauskienė. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Lithuanian Representative to Taiwan Paulius Lukauskas.