France is eager to collaborate with Taiwan as countries navigate the global competition for artificial intelligence (AI) leadership, French Representative to Taiwan Franck Paris said on Friday.
“Taiwan may in effect be the first to make artificial intelligence into an asset for democracy,” Paris said during celebrations marking France’s national day, Bastille Day, which is tomorrow.
Describing such an endeavor as an “immense challenge,” Paris said France, as a democracy, the next president of the G7 and a nation with a presence in the Indo-Pacific region, would continue to collaborate with Taiwan toward the goal.
Photo: CNA
France also has extensive experience in the defense, space and nuclear energy sectors, as well as on green transitions, areas that could play a key role in bolstering democratic resilience, he said.
Paris heads the French Office in Taipei, which represents France’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
His comments come amid intensifying global competition in AI development, and growing calls for democracies to coordinate responses to emerging security and technological challenges posed by authoritarian countries.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) lauded the close ties between Taiwan and France, particularly regarding technology, culture and education.
Taiwan and France are closely linked not only because they share the same values, but also because they are both working hard to firmly defend democracy and freedom, Wu said at the Bastille Day event, adding that the two countries are important partners for each other.
“I anticipate Taiwan-France relations reaching even greater heights,” he added.
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