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.
PALAU LAUNCHES: The source said that Taiwanese military personnel traveled to Palau, where a US brigade watched their work amid plans for a defense network The military last month participated in live-fire launches of MM-104F Patriot (PAC-3) missiles under US observation in an undisclosed location in Palau, a step forward in a US-led plan to create a joint defense missile system in the first island chain, a source said on condition of anonymity. The PAC-3 is the mainstay surface-to-air missile of the US, NATO and democratic nations in East Asia, the source said, adding that it has never been live-tested within Taiwan’s borders, the source said. The proximity of Taiwan to China and China’s close surveillance of the nation’s borders and nearby sea zones is a significant
IN MOURNING: Tsai visited the site and spoke with family members of those killed, while all the major presidential candidates said they would temporarily halt campaigning A fire and subsequent explosions at a golf ball factory at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park (屏東科技產業園區) killed at least seven people, including four firefighters, and injured 98, while three were still missing, authorities said yesterday. The blaze at Launch Technologies Co’s (明揚國際) plant on Jingjian Road raged for more than 12 hours after it started at about 5pm on Friday, officials said. The Pingtung County Fire Bureau early yesterday used large excavators to search for missing people, while family members waited at the scene. Pingtung County Fire Bureau Director Hsu Mei-hsueh (許美雪) said the bureau received a call about the fire at 5:31pm
DETERRENCE: The president on Thursday is to launch the first indigenous submarine, which is to enter sea trials next month before being delivered to the navy next year Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two new, domestically developed submarines by 2027, and possibly equip later models with missiles to bolster its deterrence against the Chinese navy and protect key supply lines, the head of the program said. Taiwan has made the Indigenous Submarine Program a key part of an ambitious project to modernize its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who initiated the program when she took office in 2016, is expected to launch the first of eight new submarines on Thursday under a plan that has drawn on expertise and technology from
FISHING FUROR: The latest spat was sparked by a floating barrier that was found across the entrance of Scarborough Shoal during a resupply mission to fishers Beijing yesterday warned Manila not to “stir up trouble” after the Philippine Coast Guard said it removed a floating barrier at a disputed reef that was allegedly deployed by China to block Filipino fishers from the area. Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in the South China Sea has long been a source of tension between the nations. China seized the ring of reefs from the Philippines in 2012 and has since deployed patrol boats. The latest spat was sparked by a 300m floating barrier that was found across the entrance of the shoal last week during a routine Philippine government resupply mission
RSS