President Lai Ching-te called the relationship between Taiwan and Czechia vibrant and looked forward to deepening cooperation across the board to jointly advance both nations’ prosperity.
Lai made the remarks while receiving a contingent led by Jiří Drahoš, first vice president of Czechia’s Senate, June 14 in the Presidential Office in Taipei City. This trip marks Drahoš’ fourth visit to Taiwan, the president added.
Lai continued by recognizing Drahoš for his role in facilitating the July 2023 launch of direct flights between Taipei and Prague. He said that during the first quarter of 2024, the number of travelers from Taiwan to Czechia rose by 75 percent compared to the same period last year.
The president noted that Drahoš’ visit would include witnessing the signing of a cooperative agreement between Taiwan’s National Palace Museum and the National Museum in Prague, and attending the opening ceremony of the Czech Centre in Taipei.
Lai next mentioned that, under a Taiwan-Czech resilience project, Taiwan’s first overseas integrated circuit design training base will be set up in Prague. He expressed his gratitude to Drahos for his assistance in the aforementioned exchanges, and thanked all of the delegates for their long-standing support.
In response, Drahoš said that Taiwan and Czechia share common values and are both resilient democracies with experience concerning hostile non-democratic neighboring countries. He also said he was pleased to be able to collaborate to aid Ukraine through concrete actions.
Drahoš said that his country is ready to be a part of Taiwan’s semiconductor ecosystem, giving a special mention to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s investments in Central Europe, and concluded with appreciation for the hospitality and friendship of Lai and the people of Taiwan. (POC-E)
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