Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Tsai Ing-wen addressed the opening of the EU-Taiwan Supply Chains Forum by video at 4 p.m. (9 a.m. Brussels time) on March 10. Noting that Taiwan and the EU are key trading partners, the president stated that emerging global challenges have highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience. She expressed hope that Taiwan will continue to work with the EU to weather the pandemic and enhance mutual cooperation in order to build more resilient, diversified, and reliable supply chains that benefit companies on both sides.

A transcript of the president's remarks follows:

It is a pleasure to address this forum and speak about the exciting prospects for our economic cooperation. Taiwan and the EU are key trading partners, and the EU is Taiwan's biggest source of foreign direct investment.  

This partnership is built on our shared belief in democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Taiwan's respect for intellectual property, our effective pandemic response, and our trade expertise continue to guide our work with the EU to develop more robust supply chains.

Emerging global challenges have highlighted the need for supply chain resilience. With our proven track record, Taiwan is ready to expand bilateral investment and work with our partners to come back stronger from the pandemic.

The EU has put green energy and the digital economy at the center of its economic recovery plans. We in Taiwan are also focused on developing green energy and spurring technological innovation.

Our government has named next-generation electronics, renewable energy, and biotechnology among our Core Strategic Industries. And we have nurtured dynamic industrial clusters for domestic and foreign firms to collaborate and innovate more effectively.

I understand the EU's trade policy is now focused on the Asia-Pacific region, and I want to thank our friends in the European Parliament and EU business leaders for continuing to support Taiwan-EU connectivity.

Events like this foster the connectivity between us. This connectivity spurs investment and creates jobs, laying a firm foundation for future growth.

I hope your discussions today pave the way for more resilient, diversified, and reliable supply chains that benefit companies in Taiwan and the EU. I wish you all a successful forum. Thank you.

The online EU-Taiwan Supply Chains Forum was organized by the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium, the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS), and the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA), Taiwan, with the goal of strengthening supply chain cooperation and technology exchanges between industries in Taiwan and the EU.

The forum was moderated by MEP Andrey Kovatchev, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group.