Taiwan’s bid for meaningful participation in international organizations and activities received strong legislative support from the Irish Senate May 22 in Dublin, according to the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Seanad Eireann passed the Ireland-Taiwan Relations Motion to support Paragraph 96 of the European Parliament Resolution of Sept. 12 2012 in the Annual Report from the Council to the European Parliament on the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The resolution urged the European Parliament to “take concrete steps to further enhance EU-Taiwan economic relations, and to facilitate the negotiation of an EU-Taiwan economic cooperation agreement.”
It also reiterated “firm support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in relevant international organizations and activities, including the World Health Organization.”
The motion was proposed May 14 by Sens. Thomas Byrne, Paschal Mooney, Marc Mac Sharry and Diarmuid Wilson, who visited Taiwan last month.
In passing the motion, the Irish Senate recognized improved relations between the two countries in recent years, and the role of the recently introduced reciprocal working holiday program in stimulating bilateral academic links, scientific cooperation, cultural exchanges and tourism.
The Irish Senate also urged the national parliament to continue promoting greater bilateral trade and investment, and expressed hope that Ireland and Taiwan can continue developing closer relations, leading to greater economic prosperity for both countries.
According to the MOFA, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives also passed a similar resolution in February 2012 supporting a Taiwan-EU economic cooperation agreement.
ROC government statistics revealed that the EU is Taiwan’s leading source of foreign investment and fourth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to US$53 billion for the first 11 months of 2012.
Starting the groundwork on the proposed Taiwan-EU ECA has been a top priority for ROC government since the EU-South Korea free trade agreement took effect in July 2011, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. (JSM)
Write to Meg Chang at sfchang@mofa.gov.tw