New Southbound Policy Portal

Q2 saw increased foreign trade and investment resulting from work by Taiwan’s representative offices according to the MOFA Aug. 2. (Staff photo/Pang Chia-shan)
 

Impressive results by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Taiwan’s representative offices have come in the form of significantly increased foreign trade and investment in the second quarter of 2022, according to the MOFA Aug. 2.

Notable achievements include Taiwan’s participation in the 12th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization held in Geneva in June, the MOFA said. Taking active part in fishery subsidies and e-commerce negotiations as part of the Geneva Package resulted in formulation of new trade regulations, which were then concluded in the conference, the ministry added.

Similarly, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade was launched in June, the MOFA said, adding that it helped pave the way for the country to join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Taiwan further strengthened its economic partnership with the EU through this year’s Taiwan-EU Trade and Investment Dialogue held by Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua and Sabine Weyand, director-general of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade. In addition, a resolution was adopted by the European Parliament urging the EU to launch structured dialogue with Taiwan on cooperation in green technology and digital economy.

According to the MOFA, the overseas offices played a key role in the Taiwan visits of delegations led by Grzegorz Piechowiak, deputy minister of Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology; Jovita Neliupsiene, vice minister of Lithuania’s Ministry of Economy and Innovation; and Egidijus Giedraitis, vice minister of Lithuania’s Ministry of Agriculture. The same offices also assisted Taiwania Capital Management Corp. to hold investment promotion conferences in Czechia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia for Taiwan businesses to tap into Central and Eastern Europe markets.

Several pacts were signed though such support, including a Taiwan-India memorandum of understanding on intellectual property rights collaboration and a Taiwan-Somaliland agreement on energy and mineral resources cooperation, the MOFA said. It added that the ministry worked with Taipei City-based economic and trade associations in holding seminars and leading local enterprises to visit allies for investment and procurement.

In other initiatives, the ministry has deepened human resource exchanges with African and New Southbound Policy target countries. Furthermore, Taiwan’s representative offices in Brunei, Japan’s Osaka and Fukuoka, New Zealand’s Auckland and South Korea, have boosted sales of Taiwan grouper, mango, pineapple and sugar apple. (YCH-E)