President Tsai Ing-wen said Oct. 24 that the government will continue to strengthen Taiwan-Netherlands exchanges by expanding cooperation across a range of areas including trade and technology.
The Netherlands House of Representatives is a consistent and staunch supporter of Taiwan, Tsai said. This includes a bipartisan motion passed by an overwhelming majority earlier this month urging the Dutch government to back the country’s international participation, she added.
Other examples of bilateral partnership are a mechanism for vice-ministerial dialogue on economic affairs, a mutual assistance agreement on customs and a memorandum of understanding on science and technology collaboration, Tsai said, adding that a Dutch firm was a key partner in designing the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in southern Taiwan.
Tsai made the remarks at a meeting with lawmakers and think tankers from the European country held at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. The delegation led by House of Representatives Member Henk Krol included Senator Martine Baay-Timmerman; Han ten Broeke, director of political affairs at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies; Rene Cuperus, senior associate fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations; and Guy Wittich, representative of the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office.
According to Tsai, the visit can serve as a platform to kick-start negotiations with the EU on a bilateral investment agreement. Given both countries share the values of freedom, democracy and rules-based order, they should work to boost cooperation on combating disinformation and boosting information security, she said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs show that the Netherlands was the largest foreign investor in Taiwan in the first eight months of the year. The total of US$2.158 billion accounted for 33.11 percent of such investment. (YCH-E)
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