A delegation led by Lithuanian Vice Minister of the Economy and Innovation Karolis Zemaitis yesterday commenced a five-day visit to Taiwan aimed at seeking economic and technological cooperation.
Zemaitis, who worked as an adviser to Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite before taking on the new post this month, and 27 government officials and representatives from laser and biotechnology companies arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The visit was “a display of Taiwan and Lithuania being faithful partners at the front line of democracy,” the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, AFP
“Taiwan and Lithuania will join hands to foster win-win development in global cutting-edge industries,” it said.
While authoritarian regimes are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the energy and food crisis to threaten democracy, freedom and the rule of law, Taiwan and Lithuania would adhere to their shared values, it added.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) was to hold a banquet to welcome the delegation, which plans to visit the National Development Council and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the statement said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The delegation also plans to visit research institutions and laser technology and biotechnology companies, competitive industries in both Taiwan and Lithuania, to explore opportunities for cooperation, it said.
It is the fourth Lithuanian delegation to visit Taiwan this year, following visits led by Lithuanian Vice Minister of Agriculture Egidijus Giedraitis and Lithuanian Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation Jovita Neliupsiene in June, and Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Agne Vaiciukeviciute last month, the ministry said.
The ministry did not say whether the visit had anything to do with the opening of the Lithuanian Trade Representative Office in Taipei.
The office was reportedly to be opened yesterday, but no detailed plans had been announced.
Lithuanian officials only confirmed that the office would be opened this month.
The Lithuanian national flag was flying outside the World Trade Center in Taipei yesterday.
Paulius Lukauskas, who is to head the office, has arrived in Taiwan and would start arranging the opening of the office after finishing his COVID-19 quarantine, sources familiar with the issue said.
Taiwan’s ties with the Baltic state have become warmer over the past years and Taiwan established the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania on Nov. 18 last year.
Additional reporting by CNA
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
‘COMING MENACINGLY’: The CDC advised wearing a mask when visiting hospitals or long-term care centers, on public transportation and in crowded indoor venues Hospital visits for COVID-19 last week increased by 113 percent to 41,402, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it encouraged people to wear a mask in three public settings to prevent infection. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said weekly hospital visits for COVID-19 have been increasing for seven consecutive weeks, and 102 severe COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths were confirmed last week, both the highest weekly numbers this year. CDC physician Lee Tsung-han (李宗翰) said the youngest person hospitalized due to the disease this year was reported last week, a one-month-old baby, who does not
RSS