Cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania could strengthen global democracies and contribute to prosperity and development around the world, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remark while meeting a delegation led by “Taiwan’s good friend” former Lithuanian vice minister of foreign affairs Mantas Adomenas at the Presidential Office building in Taipei.
Tsai thanked Adomenas for his long-term support for the Taiwan, citing the example of his soliciting of support from more than 200 Lithuanian public figures in calling for stronger cooperation between the two countries in 2020 as then-deputy chairman of the Taiwan-Lithuania Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Photo: CNA
He also provided considerable assistance in the opening of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania in 2021 and the Lithuanian Trade Representative Office in Taipei in the following year, Tsai said.
Ties between Taipei and Vilnius are growing closer, which is embodied in cooperation in agriculture, semiconductors, medicine and health, as well as the bilateral economic and trade exchanges supported by Taiwan’s Central and Eastern Europe Investment Fund, she said.
The Central European country demonstrated its close friendship with Taiwan with the donation of 50,000 euros (US$53,280) to assist in the reconstruction of the disaster area after the nation was hit by a major earthquake earlier this month, she said.
The Lithuanian government and the Seimas have repeatedly underlined the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and voiced support for Taiwan’s international participation, she added.
Lithuania and Taiwan share similar traits, history and predicaments, Adomenas said, adding that Vilnius understands what it feels like to be denied some rights to sovereignty.
Taiwanese have demonstrated to the world their desire for sovereignty, independence, international recognition and the continuance of their way of life, he said.
Taiwan is “the island of liberty and the beacon of human rights in the whole region and an example of how these values should be lived and implemented for the whole world,” he said.
Democracy should not be taken for granted as it is faced with constant threats, he said, adding that democratic values should be protected with constant vigilance and outstanding leadership.
Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) awarded Adomenas the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy in recognition of his contributions to promoting closer ties between the two countries.
Wu conferred the medal on Adomenas during a ceremony on Wednesday, calling him a “true friend of Taiwan” and commending his efforts to safeguard democracy and freedom.
While serving as vice minister of foreign affairs in Lithuania, he coordinated various governmental agencies to donate more than 250,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan, the first EU member state to do so, Wu said.
He was also an important force behind the naming of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, the first office in Europe to be called Taiwanese, he said.
The nation’s representative offices in countries without formal relations mostly use the word “Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” to avoid a harsh reaction from Beijing.
During a banquet hosted by Wu for the delegation after the ceremony, the two sides exchanged opinions on economic and trade relations, the situation in Europe and the war in Ukraine, the expansion of authoritarian countries, and tourism in the Baltic Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
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