The opening of a trade office and the signing of a cooperation pact would make the Taiwan-Virginia partnership stronger, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said yesterday as he concluded a two-day visit to Taiwan.
Youngkin on Monday announced that he had approved the establishment of a Virginia trade office in Taiwan and yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on economic and trade cooperation with the nation.
Speaking at a press event after the signing, Youngkin said the moves “will build on an already strong relationship.”
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“And I have very high aspirations that Virginia and Taiwan will have a great future, both economically and in partnership going forward,” he said.
Asked about his first international trade mission since taking office as governor in January — two days in Taiwan before visits to Japan and South Korea — Youngkin said it “could not begin in a more appropriate place.”
He said the aim of traveling to the three Asian destinations was to bolster cooperation with “trusted partners” in supply chains in key industries, such as semiconductors, pharmaceutical manufacturing, automotive supplies, and electric vehicle batteries and storage.
“These are critical supply chains for our collective future, and ones that I believe we must continue to forge with trusted partners. That’s why I’m here,” he said.
Youngkin signed the MOU with Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) at a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Taipei that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) also attended.
Tien said that Virginia is Taiwan’s 10th-largest source of imports and ninth-largest export market among the US’ 50 states.
The MOU would help to foster even more opportunities for both sides, he said.
Chen praised Virginia as a home to engineering talent with a strong workforce and sound education system.
The MOU would be the starting point to further reinforce cooperation of the fields of economic and trade, and open a new chapter in Taiwan-Virginia relations, he said.
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