The 18th session of the Taiwan-Czech Joint Business Council Meeting was staged March 27 in Taipei City, underscoring the two sides’ shared commitment to deepening partnership across the board, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Convened by Henry Chih-shang Kao, chair of Taipei City-based Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association, Taiwan, and Jaroslav Hanak, president of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, the event focused on the aerospace, electric vehicle, energy and innovative industries, with over 250 people in attendance.
In her opening remarks, MOEA Minister Wang Mei-hua said that Taiwan’s electric vehicle component producers have leveraged the country’s strengths in information and communication technology and semiconductors to become integral to global supply chains. Domestic financial institutions like Taiwan Cooperative Bank also set up representative offices in Prague last year, further boosting two-way economic and trade ties, she added.
Echoing Wang’s remarks, the Czech Republic Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marketa Pekarova Adamova said Taiwan is one of the Central European country’s crucial partners in Asia. With direct flights between Taipei and Prague set to start in July this year, she looks forward to exploring more bilateral business opportunities, she added.
Following the meeting, the two sides inked five memorandums of understanding on cooperation in areas spanning lithium battery recycling, medical equipment and precision machinery, the MOEA said, adding that the signing ceremony was witnessed by MOEA Deputy Minister Chen Chern-chyi and Petr Ocko, deputy minister for digitalization and innovation at the Czech’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.
MOEA statistics show that bilateral trade totaled US$1.15 billion in 2022, up 20 percent from the year before, making the Czech Republic Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe. (YCH-E)
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