President Tsai Ing-wen said Nov. 22 that Taiwan is committed to boosting exchange and cooperation while deepening partnerships with Norway to jointly contribute to global development.
Tsai made the remarks while receiving a Norwegian Liberal Party delegation led by Guri Melby, the party’s leader and second vice chair of the Norwegian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.
The president praised Melby as a steadfast supporter of human rights, focusing on her nomination of the people of Hong Kong for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. Tsai also took the opportunity to thank the party leader for her continued backing of Taiwan’s international participation and for putting forward a motion urging her country’s government to take action to support Taiwan.
Taiwan is developing its green energy industry, an area of excellence for Norway, Tsai said, adding that the Ministry of Economic Affairs sent a delegation to the Northern European country for the Taiwan-Norway Offshore Wind Forum last week. She expressed hopes that the two sides will continue to generate more fruitful results from bilateral cooperation.
In response, Melby said global trade has created new economic dependencies, which authoritarian regimes might use as a tool to alter the global order. The solution to the issue is to strengthen relationships with democracies like Taiwan, she added.
To that end, delegation members have put forward suggestions in Parliament including the reestablishment of a representative office in Taipei, Melby said. She also called on the Norwegian government to support Taiwan’s bid to join the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
According to Melby, the aim of the current visit is to show delegation members’ support for the shared values of freedom, democracy and sovereignty. The best way to deepen the bilateral relationship is to strengthen Taiwan and Norway’s diplomatic and economic ties, Melby said, adding that Norway will continue to stand with Taiwan and fight for democracy. (YCH-E)
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