The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday expressed the nation’s condolences to the family of Hugues Mignot, a naturalized Taiwanese citizen who was a former director of the Belgium Office Taipei before serving as the first director of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Taiwan.
Mignot passed away in Taipei on Thursday at the age of 80, the ministry said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) reached out to Mignot’s widow to express the nation’s condolences, and let his family know that his contributions to diplomacy are highly respected, it said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Mignot, who was fluent in Chinese, served as Belgium’s top representative to Taiwan from 1986 to 2006, it added.
Mignot built solid friendships, and was instrumental in Taiwan developing relationships with Belgium and the EU. In 1987, he was the first to propose setting up a European Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan.
In 2002, he lobbied for a European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei, which was opened in March 2003. In October 2004, his efforts led to the signing of the Taiwan-Belgium Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
In 2006, Mignot retired, married a Taiwanese woman and was conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon by then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
In 2009, Luxembourg opened a trade and investment office in Taiwan, and Mignot left retirement to head it, stepping down in 2016.
In December 2019, he became a naturalized Taiwanese citizen.
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