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.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS