The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday issued a joint statement on security supply chains, saying that they would augment consultations and cooperation, especially in the information and communications technology (ICT) and medical sectors, and ensure that “supply chains are secure and free from political coercion.”
The partnership would focus on encouraging partners to bring supply chains closer to home or like-minded economies, and to develop new supply chains based on shared values, the statement read.
“Developing supply chain resilience in like-minded priority regions, such as India, ASEAN and the Visegrad Group, which will collectively reinforce the Taiwan New Southbound Policy and US Indo-Pacific strategy” will be one of the partnership’s goals, it read.
Photo: CNA
The joint statement was issued following the Forum on Supply Chain Restructuring: Improving Resilience Amongst Like-Minded Partners hosted by the AIT at the Shangri-La Hotel in Taipei.
At the forum, envoys of the US, Europe and Japan, as well as a Czech delegation visiting Taipei, expressed their support for restructuring a global supply chain based on the values of democracy, free markets and respect for intellectual property (IP) rights.
In his opening remarks, AIT Director Brent Christensen told the Czech delegation that the AIT and Taiwan’s representative office in the US last week issued a declaration on 5G security that echoes last year’s Prague Proposals.
Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil and his delegation’s visit to Taipei has highlighted Taiwan’s significance in so many areas “that are vital to our future prosperity and national security,” Christensen said.
Supply chain resiliency is just one of the areas in which Taiwan is to play a key role in the post-COVID-19 era, he added.
Taiwanese firms are leading industry players that helped to develop ICT and other supply chains in China more than 30 years ago, but Taiwanese firms adhere to the rule of law and protect intellectual property, he said.
COVID-19 has exposed the risk of overreliance on a single country or supplier for critical materials such as medical supplies or pharmaceuticals, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said.
In his speech, on the final day of the delegation’s visit, Vystrcil endorsed the values of freedom, democracy and an open economy, while highlighting the importance of seeking like-minded suppliers in strategic sectors, such as medical supplies.
European Economic and Trade Office Director Filip Grzegorzewski, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi and TAITRA Chairman James Huang (黃志芳) also attended the forum.
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