Mr. Charles C. Li, Director-General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Chennai, hosted the 108th National Day Reception of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Colombo, Sri Lanka for the consecutive 4th year. Over 80 guests were present, including government officials, business representatives from Taiwan and Sri Lanka, Taiwanese nationals.
The National Day Reception coincided with the 3rd anniversary of Sri Lanka-Taiwan Friendship Association, and the 1st anniversary of Taipei World Trade Center Colombo Office. Director-General Charles C. Li briefed the audience on the recent development of the bilateral people-to-people relations between Taiwan and Sri Lanka. Taiwan remains the 9th major import source to Sri Lanka. More than 20 highly talented students are now studying for Master or PhD degrees on scholarship in quality universities in Taiwan. The Sri Lanka delegation was among the 6 finalists in the Presidential Hackathon held in Taipei on July 2019. Taiwan's 23.6 million population is similar to Sri Lankan's and Taiwan's USD470 billion foreign exchange reserve keeps Taiwan on the top 5 globally. Taiwan is willing to share its expertise and experience in high technology, innovation and efficient manufacturing with friendly countries like Sri Lanka. Both sides should jointly work out strategies to attract Taiwanese investors and tourists, who have made 16 million visits abroad last year alone, to come to Sri Lanka. Furthermore, both countries shall commence bilateral economic negotiations with an aim to enhance collaboration in developing export-oriented high-tech industry in Sri Lanka. As a brave and confident country, the R.O.C. (Taiwan) is capable and willing to contribute to realizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). We actively pursue the opportunity to meaningfully participate in international organizations and mechanisms, i.e. ICAO, UNFCCC, WHA and UN, etc. Our efforts have won stronger and broader support from the international community.