Taiwan and Slovakia are headed for closer trade relations, Slovak Second State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy Karol Galek said yesterday at the Taiwanese-Slovak Commission on Economic Cooperation meeting in Taipei.
Taiwan and Slovakia’s cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic proves the countries’ ability to work together as equal partners “in good times and the bad,” and Slovakia is ready to work with Taiwan as “small but open economies” to “find our place in an ever-changing global economy,” Galek said.
“I believe that [the meeting] will bring far-reaching discussions, allowing both sides to make the best of their economic potential for future cooperation,” he said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Galek said he met with National Development Council (NDC) Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) early yesterday, when they discussed specific areas of potential cooperation, including on smart cities, space industries, electric vehicles and semiconductors.
Both sides agreed to create a working group to explore areas of cooperation in research and development, among other fields, he said.
“Slovakia supports Taiwan,” said Galek, who is leading a delegation of 18 senior officials and 25 businesspeople from Slovakia.
Kung, who led a 66-member delegation to Slovakia in October, when seven memorandums of understanding were signed, said that Slovakia and Taiwan should deepen trade relations.
“As Taiwan and Slovakia are both free, democratic partners with shared values, we have signed agreements since establishing offices in each other’s countries to avoid double taxation, foster technology cooperation, the establishment of e-government services, economic cooperation, working holidays and many other topics,” Kung said.
Trade between the countries has grown rapidly and Slovakia receives the second-highest investment from Taiwan among EU countries at 500 million euros (US$564.64 million), creating 3,000 Slovak jobs.
“After visiting Slovakia in October, many Taiwanese companies are willing to increase their investments in Slovakia,” Kung said.
Taiwan’s donation of masks to Slovakia in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and Slovakia’s later donation of 160,000 vaccines to Taiwan formed the basis of trust between the two nations, he said.
“The mutual donations became what President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) described as a ‘circle of good,’” Kung said.
“We hope that this circle can be extended to the economic realm,” he said.
Director-General of Economic and Development Cooperation at Slovakia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lucia Kiss said in her opening address that the talks “open a wave of active and direct consultations between the ministries of both countries, and it is an important historic event in our bilateral relations.”
That the Slovak delegation decided to visit Taiwan despite the COVID-19 pandemic shows that Slovakia is determined to “deepen and upgrade economic relations with Taiwan,” she said.
Yesterday’s opening ceremony was also attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) and Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺).
The Slovak delegation is visiting Taiwan until Friday.
Additional reporting by CNA
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist