Lithuania’s first representative to Taiwan, Paulius Lukauskas, on Monday applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for diplomatic documentation, marking the official opening of the Lithuanian Trade Representative Office in Taipei, the ministry said yesterday.
After Taiwan established the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania in Vilnius in November last year, the Lithuanian government said it would also establish an office in Taiwan, Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) said.
Lukauskas arrived in Taiwan earlier this month and on Monday requested that the ministry issue documentation recognizing him as a foreign dignitary, Chen said.
Photo courtesty of National Development Council
Asked whether the office would hold a ceremony to mark its opening, Chen said it would be the decision of the Lithuanian office.
The office has signed a contract for a space at the TWTC International Trade Building in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), but it has yet to be furnished, Chen said.
Separately, a trade and economic conference between Taiwan and Lithuania held on Monday in Taipei was expected to create more than US$30 million in business opportunities, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said.
Taipei Times file photo
Led by Lithuanian Vice Minister of the Economy and Innovation Karolis Zemaitis, a 28-member delegation, including representatives from 15 companies, arrived in Taiwan on Saturday.
It is the fourth ministerial-level visit by Lithuania to Taiwan this year.
The conference, attended by delegation members and representatives from 66 Taiwanese firms, focused on laser technology, electric vehicles and biotech development, TAITRA said.
Lithuania’s Innovation Agency signed a memorandum of understanding with TAITRA on cooperation, it added.
Lukauskas, who is a senior adviser to Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, said he would use his business background to push for more economic dialogue and cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
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