The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it welcomes a planned visit from Sunday to Friday next week of a delegation from the European Parliament.
Eleven members of the European Parliament, led by Michael Gahler, chairman of the European Taiwan Friendship Group, would be the first delegation from the parliament to visit Taiwan next year, Department of European Affairs Director Eric Huang (黃鈞耀) said.
The group is to meet with President William Lai (賴清德), visit the National Security Council, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), and attend a banquet hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Huang said.
Photo: EPA
The members would also meet with representatives of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, and hold talks with specialists on a range of issues including countering misinformation and cyberattacks, hybrid security threats, Taiwan-EU economic and trade cooperation, and situations in the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait, as well as visit Kinmen County, he said.
“Serving as the chair of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group and cochair of the Formosa Club in Europe since the previous European Parliament term [2019 to last year], Gahler has been a long-standing supporter of Taiwan,” Huang said.
Gahler has been dedicated to promoting parliamentary exchanges between Taiwan and the EU, and assisting Taiwan to expand its network of supporters within the European Parliament, he said.
In the European Parliament term that began last year and runs through 2029, he has also facilitated passage of a resolution condemning the People’s Republic of China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758 and its ongoing military provocations toward Taiwan, Huang said.
“The ministry welcomes the European Parliament’s continued support for Taiwan through concreate actions,” he said, adding that Taiwan would continue to work with the EU and like-minded European nations to bolster democratic resilience, and build a solid alliance of shared values.
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