Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday.
The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release.
Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said.
Photo: AFP
The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of economic and trade relations between Taiwan and Thailand, it said.
The two sides previously signed an investment agreement in 1996, but as businesses have evolved and diversified that deal no longer met the needs of overseas investors, it said.
The new agreement was negotiated to provide more comprehensive protections and boost investor confidence, by ensuring that investment information remains transparent while a designated window is established to handle investment-related matters, the OTN said.
Information transparency means whenever there are new investment-related regulations or measures are amended, they must be announced immediately so businesses can more easily evaluate and formulate business plans, it added.
Meanwhile, the two sides would be required to establish a designated window to answer investment-related questions, allowing investors to quickly understand changes to the investment environment, it said.
Based on trade and investment statistics, since the implementation of the government’s New Southbound Policy in 2016, bilateral trade between Taiwan and Thailand has increased 74.6 percent from US$9.3 billion to US$16.24 billion, it said.
During this period, bilateral investment has also risen by 119.8 percent from US$3.18 billion to US$6.99 billion, reflecting Thailand’s status as one of Taiwan’s main trading and investment partners in ASEAN.
Exports of Taiwanese products to Thailand mainly include electrical components as well as machinery and other related parts, and it is also the Southeast Asian country’s largest supplier of integrated circuits.
In other news, Taiwan and Somaliland officials discussed energy and mineral exchanges as well as potential cooperation during Somaliland Minister of Energy and Minerals Abdilahi Farah Abdi’s visit on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.
In a statement, MOFA said Abdi during a banquet on Thursday night highlighted Taiwan’s crucial role as an international development partner for Somaliland, and the African country’s abundant energy and mineral resources.
He expressed hope that the Taiwan-Somaliland energy and minerals meeting would boost Taiwanese business recognition of the African country’s investment potential, fostering long-term and mutually beneficial relations, MOFA said.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Remus Chen (陳立國) said the two nations signed an energy and minerals cooperation agreement in 2022, followed by an inaugural joint working group meeting on energy and minerals in Somaliland last year.
Abdi’s visit to Taiwan aims to deepen cooperation in exploring and developing oil, gas and strategic minerals, Chen said.
The two countries are committed to freedom and democracy, he said.
Taiwan and Somaliland have closely cooperated since establishing representative offices in 2020, Chen added.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS