President Tsai Ing-wen said Sept. 25 that Taiwan is committed to working with the U.K. to jointly contribute to global fair trade and supply chain resilience.
Tsai made the remarks while meeting with a delegation led by Lord Faulkner of Worcester, the U.K. trade envoy to Taiwan and deputy speaker of the House of Lords, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.
Taiwan and the U.K. have continued to strengthen their cooperation in areas such as renewable energy over the past five years, Tsai said, adding that Faulkner is bringing representatives from 10 companies in the field to the Taiwan-U.K. Net-Zero Academic Research Forum scheduled Sept. 26-27 in Taipei.
Cooperation on trade and investment is key to two-way ties, Tsai said. Official talks on the Taiwan-U.K. Enhanced Trade Partnership started in July and focused on the fields of digital trade, energy and net-zero emissions, and investment, she added. The president additionally congratulated the U.K. on its pending membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and urged its government to support Taiwan’s bid to join.
Tsai further expressed deep appreciation for the U.K. government’s Integrated Review Refresh 2023 released in March and the Indo-Pacific Tilt policy review published by Parliament in August, both of which stressed the importance of cross-strait peace and stability. She also expressed gratitude for the U.K.’s support for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly for consecutive three years.
In response, Faulkner said bilateral trade reached 8.6 billion pounds (US$10.5 billion) last year, a fact that demonstrates Taiwan’s status as an important U.K. trading partner and vital link in the global supply chain. He added that his country is looking for new opportunities on energy transition, and science and technology cooperation with Taiwan, citing as evidence its first pavilion at SEMICON Taiwan earlier this month. (YCH-E)
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