A Ukrainian delegation is visiting Taiwan in a bid to shore up assistance from Taiwanese firms in the reconstruction of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said yesterday.
The Ukrainian delegation, comprised of government and industry representatives, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday night and on Monday the delegation led by the chief executive of the Ukrainian government’s purchasing platform Prozorro, spoke with TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳), who pledged to assist in the rebuilding of war-torn Ukraine and to facilitate introductions with Taiwanese construction firms, TAITRA said in a statement.
Prozorro chief executive Mykola Tkachenko said the visit was expected to help raise Ukrainian awareness of Taiwan’s expertise in technology, adding that most Ukrainians had known very little about Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council via CNA
The delegation includes representatives from Ukraine’s industrial sector and another aim of the visit is for Taiwanese companies to learn more about Ukraine’s industrial development and to create opportunities in the electronics, machinery, energy and healthcare sectors, Tkachenko said.
TAITRA in the statement said that on Tuesday it held a forum about rebuilding Ukraine, inviting almost 200 Taiwanese representatives to attend.
The forum served as a channel for Taiwanese and Ukrainian companies to meet potential business partners, it said.
At the forum, representatives from Ukrainian medical care group Unbroken, which aims to help the nation recover in the post-war era, and a private power supplier shared videos with Taiwanese attendees depicting the conditions in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion and detailing their nation’s rebuilding efforts.
A Ukrainian delegate urged Taiwanese companies to participate in numerous aspects of rebuilding Ukraine, including energy supply, energy transformation and the upgrading of a power transmission system which was built in the Soviet era, TAITRA said.
The delegate said now was the time for Taiwanese companies to find business partners in Ukraine as the nation is seeking cooperation ahead of its reconstruction.
They added that Ukrainian companies are very interested in a wide range of products made in Taiwan, such as PhotoMOS relays, optical couplers, electronic medical devices, generators, energy storage products and computer numerical control machines.
In the statement, TAITRA president and chief executive Simon Wang (王熙蒙) said that the Ukrainian delegation had traveled a long way amid war to make the historic visit to Taiwan, and that Taiwan and Ukraine are expected to honor any pledges made regarding cooperation.
TAITRA and its Kyiv trade center would continue to push for exchanges between the two sides, Wang said.
Before the delegation leaves Taiwan on Friday, it plans to visit Taiwanese companies specializing in electronics and power management, industrial computers, smart healthcare and machine tools, the statement said.
In other news, a delegation led by former Kosovar prime minister Avdullah Hoti arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a five-day visit.
The delegation is expected to meet with president-elect William Lai (賴清德), senior government officials and local businesses to promote closer bilateral relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Members of the delegation include lawmakers Artan Abrashi, cochair of the Kosovo-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, and Time Kadrijaj, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, former Kosovar deputy prime minister Driton Selmanaj and representatives of Kosovo’s business community, the ministry said.
The Kosovo-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, established in December 2021, is the first of its kind in the western Balkans, the ministry added.
Hoti served as prime minister of Kosovo from June 2020 to March 2021. He had visited Taiwan in November 2022 and March last year.
When Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Taiwan was among a handful of nations that immediately recognized its independence.
More than 100 UN member states formally recognize Kosovo, but it has not yet become a member of the UN.
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