Taiwan and the UK yesterday signed three agreements to enhance bilateral exchanges and cooperation in investments, digital trade, energy and net zero.
The “three pillar” agreements of the UK-Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) were signed by Representative to the UK Vincent Yao (姚金祥) and his British counterpart Ruth Bradley-Jones at the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) in Taipei.
The ceremony was attended by visiting British Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security Douglas Alexander and Taiwan’s top trade negotiator Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), who heads the OTN.
Photo courtesy of the British Office Taipei via CNA
The “three pillars” cover cooperation on investment, digital trade, and energy and net zero.
Alexander said each of the three pillars represents an opportunity.
“In clean energy, where Taiwan is already a major market for UK companies and where we see significant growth potential. In investment, where we are seeing increased interest from both sides to back strategically significant sectors such as technology and advanced manufacturing. And in digital trade, where our pilot project is demonstrating its immense value to businesses,” he said.
Photo: screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page
The UK-Taiwan ETP is a great example of this, and is “specifically referenced in the trade strategy,” he said, adding that it provides a “flexible trading arrangement to support the development of our trade and investment relationship in key sectors.”
The OTN and the British Office Taipei said the pacts would pave the way for an open, secure and fair digital trade environment for both sides.
It would also promote closer bilateral investment — especially in supporting women in business, and small and medium-sized enterprises competing in global markets — while helping Taiwan and the UK achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, they said.
The pacts were signed two years after the ETP framework was established in 2023 to focus on sectors with high growth potential.
Alexander yesterday also met with President William Lai (賴清德), where the latter expressed hope that the UK would openly support Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Lai thanked the British government for its support for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Lai said that the UK’s recently published “Strategic Defence Review” and “National Security Strategy,” which opposed any unilateral attempts to change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, showed that Taiwan and the UK had aligned goals, and underscores the inseparability of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and transatlantic regions.
Alexander expressed the hope of deepening bilateral cooperation for more innovative collaboration and business success.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun
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