Describing Taiwan as a “hidden jewel of East Asia,” UK Representative to Taiwan Chris Wood said yesterday in Taipei that his key role is to “make British businesses aware of all the opportunities that are here in Taiwan.”
Wood, who took up his post in March, yesterday met with the media to mark the 20th anniversary of the British Trade and Cultural Office’s establishment in Taiwan.
Links between the UK and Taiwan have been growing steadily in the areas of education, cultural exchanges, business collaboration, facilitation of people-to-people exchanges through visa-free programs, as well as high-level visits by officials to each side, Wood said.
Businesses in the UK and Taiwan have collaborated in various areas, such as infrastructure, the creative industries and financial services, Wood said.
Last year, total bilateral trade between the two nations reached a historic high of £5.13 billion (US$8.3 billion), he added.
Wood said the UK has been keen to share with Taiwan its experiences in developing different types of renewable energy, adding that wind and marine energy will be key fields of cooperation in the future between businesses in the UK and Taiwan.
The Industrial Technology Research Institute held a ceremony on Tuesday to mark its ongoing cooperation with the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change to develop a Taiwan 2050 Pathways Calculator.
At the ceremony Wood signed a letter of intent with the institute on behalf of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The UK 2050 Pathways Calculator is an accurate and publicly available model for forecasting future energy supplies and demand in the UK, which could be adapted to suit Taiwan’s needs.
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