Taiwan is interested in talking with resource-rich Russia about forging cooperation ties in the energy sector, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said yesterday.
Taiwan had thought of importing crude oil and natural gas from Russia in the past, Shih said after attending the first round of talks at an APEC ministerial meeting that opened earlier in the day in the northeastern Russian city.
“The possibility exists” that government talks with Russia about forging a cooperation relationship in the energy resource sector could go ahead, he added.
Shih, who arrived in Vladivostok on Tuesday, said Taiwan’s current energy supply was largely provided by countries located in both the Middle East and Africa, but in the future, the country’s energy supplies may also come from places such as Russia’s Far East or from locations in the Pacific Ocean.
Securing more energy resource suppliers will not only offer Taiwan greater energy security, but will also give provide Taiwan with a stronger foundation from which to conduct price negotiations, he said.
With Russia’s strong scientific expertise and its world-leading development of sophisticated machinery, nanotech and aerospace technologies, Shih said there were many opportunities for the two countries to form cooperative ties in such fields.
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