Several government agencies are discussing a plan to enhance ties with Europe in several fields and would unveil it soon, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.
Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) did not name any of the agencies other than the MOFA.
The plan aims to further enhance already robust economic, education, scientific research and supply chain ties between Taiwan and Europe, he said.
Photo: CNA
Chen was addressing President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) pledge to “soon put forward a plan to strengthen our ties with Europe, and promote deeper exchanges between Taiwan and European countries” in her New Year’s Day address on Saturday.
No details of the plan were provided by Tsai, and Chen, who offered few other details of his own, would only say that more information would be provided by the agencies involved.
However, an unnamed official from the National Development Council told the Central News Agency on Saturday that the project is being handled by the council, the MOFA, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Education.
The council proposed it to the president to serve as a long-term, all-inclusive plan to enhance Taiwan’s ties with Europe, made more urgent by the reshaping of supply chains because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
The program’s main function would be to coordinate research from different government agencies to conduct “systematic and comprehensive exchanges” on economic, trade and diplomatic fronts with businesses and people in Europe, the official said.
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