Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung received a French National Assembly delegation led by its Foreign Affairs Committee Secretary Estelle Youssouffa June 8 in Taipei City to discuss the two-way ties and future cooperation.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin thanked the French government and Parliament for the long-standing support for Taiwan, citing Taiwan-friendly resolutions passed by the Parliament and the commitment to defending freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait included in France’s 2024-2030 Military Programming Law.
France is a potential strategic partner in implementing Taiwan’s Five Trusted Industry Sectors initiative, Lin said, adding that Taiwan is committed to deepening cooperation with France in areas spanning aerospace, the economy, energy, satellite communications and trade. The minister emphasized that Taiwan’s key role in the global artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors makes the country a reliable partner for Europe to promote reindustrialization and rearmament policies.
In response, Youssouffa thanked the Taiwanese government for assisting the people of Mayotte, her hometown and a French overseas department off the coast of Southeastern Africa, with reconstruction after the island was hit by a typhoon in 2024. She concluded by inviting more Taiwanese enterprises to invest in the island to access the African market and reaffirmed that France attaches great importance to peace, stability and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
At a welcoming banquet, Deputy Foreign Minister François Chih-chung Wu noted that Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe in 2025 saw more than 40-fold year-on-year growth and that export volume in the first quarter already reached last year’s total, adding that Taiwan and France have promising prospects for drone cooperation. The two countries share the values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights and that democracies should unite to counter authoritarian expansion, he said.
Delegation members will meet with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and Legislative Yuan President Daniel K. Y. Han, visit agencies including the Mainland Affairs Council, and tour institutions such as Hsinchu Science Park during their stay, according to the MOFA. (YCH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin thanked the French government and Parliament for the long-standing support for Taiwan, citing Taiwan-friendly resolutions passed by the Parliament and the commitment to defending freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait included in France’s 2024-2030 Military Programming Law.
France is a potential strategic partner in implementing Taiwan’s Five Trusted Industry Sectors initiative, Lin said, adding that Taiwan is committed to deepening cooperation with France in areas spanning aerospace, the economy, energy, satellite communications and trade. The minister emphasized that Taiwan’s key role in the global artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors makes the country a reliable partner for Europe to promote reindustrialization and rearmament policies.
In response, Youssouffa thanked the Taiwanese government for assisting the people of Mayotte, her hometown and a French overseas department off the coast of Southeastern Africa, with reconstruction after the island was hit by a typhoon in 2024. She concluded by inviting more Taiwanese enterprises to invest in the island to access the African market and reaffirmed that France attaches great importance to peace, stability and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
At a welcoming banquet, Deputy Foreign Minister François Chih-chung Wu noted that Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe in 2025 saw more than 40-fold year-on-year growth and that export volume in the first quarter already reached last year’s total, adding that Taiwan and France have promising prospects for drone cooperation. The two countries share the values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights and that democracies should unite to counter authoritarian expansion, he said.
Delegation members will meet with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and Legislative Yuan President Daniel K. Y. Han, visit agencies including the Mainland Affairs Council, and tour institutions such as Hsinchu Science Park during their stay, according to the MOFA. (YCH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
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