There are 220 delegates representing 153 Taiwanese companies at the SelectUSA Investment Summit this week, the largest single delegation from a foreign market at the event, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said yesterday.
The summit, which began on Monday and ends tomorrow, is in its eighth year and is being run virtually this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the AIT said in a news release.
It is being hosted by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, with US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking on Tuesday, an agenda showed.
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung City Government via CNA
In a pre-recorded speech, Biden welcomed representatives from 75 countries, saying: “America is back. We’re open for businesses.”
Taiwan’s delegation is headed by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中).
In addition to the global summit, the AIT has organized virtual meetings for members of the Taiwanese delegation to attend with more than 40 global businesses, it said.
The meetings with government and industry leaders are to explore opportunities in sectors including electric vehicles, semiconductors, the semiconductor supply chain, uncrewed aerial vehicles and personal protective equipment, it said.
“We created a customized program for these strategic sectors in order to deepen our commercial ties with Taiwan, a trusted partner in securing critical global supply chains, which is a top priority of the Biden administration,” AIT Director Brent Christensen was quoted as saying in the news release.
Taiwanese companies operating in the US provide 19,100 jobs, invest almost US$159 million annually in research and development, and contribute US$1.6 billion to US exports, the AIT said.
The AIT said that 2019 data, the latest available, showed that total foreign direct investment by Taiwanese companies in the US was US$47 billion.
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