A Taiwanese legislative friendship group aimed at building closer ties with Kosovo on Monday was formed during a videoconference with the Kosovo-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, which was established at the same time.
The Taiwanese group, which is made up of 39 lawmakers from across party lines, was assembled by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), who is chairman of the group, while DPP Legislator Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) is the vice chairman, Lo’s office said in a statement.
The Kosovar Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora on June 15 approved a motion to establish a parliamentary group to develop ties with Taiwan.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
The motion was proposed by five Kosovar lawmakers from across the political spectrum, including Adriana Matoshi of the ruling Levizja Vetevendosje party.
Lo then contacted the five lawmakers and they established the two parliamentary friendship groups to increase legislative exchanges, improve mutual understanding and expand the two nations’ international space, Lo’s office said.
Hailing the establishment of the legislature’s first parliamentary friendship group with a Balkan nation, Lo said that the videoconference was a major step in the development of relations between lawmakers in Taiwan and Kosovo.
The two nations have many things in common, such as the pursuit of sovereignty and democratic values, and both are struggling for economic survival and international recognition, he said.
When Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Taiwan was among a handful of nations that immediately recognized its independence, he added.
Matoshi, who leads the Kosovo-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, did not attend the videoconference as she was in hospital, but several members of the group were present, including Blerta Deliu-Kodra of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, who is vice chairwoman of the group.
Deliu-Kodra said during the videoconference that there was plenty of room to expand exchanges between Taiwan and Kosovo, and that the establishment of the groups marked an important stage in the development of bilateral relations.
Most importantly, Taiwan and Kosovo, as two democratic nations, would fight against authoritarianism side by side, Deliu-Kodra said.
During the videoconference, the two groups agreed to conduct parliamentary exchanges, and facilitate economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
They also welcomed visits by group members next year, a statement said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS