Taiwan inaugurated its permanent World Trade Organization office June 3 in Geneva, Switzerland, the first time the ROC government has established a presence of this kind in Europe.
“Establishing a permanent WTO office demonstrates our firm support for multilateral trade mechanisms and our determination in actively participating in the organization,” ROC Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-yeaw Ko said at the inauguration ceremony.
Echoing Ko’s remarks, Taiwan’s WTO representative Lai Hsin-yuan said the new office is an exchange center for participating in the world trade body.
“We very much look forward to collaborating with other nations on strengthening multilateral trade mechanisms,” Lai said, adding that permanent WTO delegations from around the world are welcome to use meeting facilities in the new office.
Taiwan became a member of the WTO Jan. 1, 2002, under the name Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. The nation was ranked No. 17 out of the WTO’s top 30 economies for exports at US$301 billion in 2012, up one notch from the year before. (KML-JSM)
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