Direct air links between Taiwan and the Czech Republic could be just around the corner, officials and airline representatives from the two countries said during a visit by a Czech delegation to Taiwan.
“The direct air link between Prague and Taipei is on its way,” Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib said on his Facebook page on Monday, expressing the hope that such cooperation would become a reality after the COVID-19 pandemic recedes.
Earlier on Monday, China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), which flew the 89-member delegation headed by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, from the Czech Republic to Taiwan, also confirmed the possibility.
“The feasibility of introducing a Taipei-Prague service is being actively studied,” CAL said in a statement after a meeting between its chairman, Hsieh Shih-chien (謝世謙), and Vystrcil.
CAL and Czech Airlines, both members of the SkyTeam Alliance, are in a code-sharing scheme in which passengers from both sides can take CAL flights connecting in Prague within Europe, CAL said.
Representatives from the two countries also discussed potential partnerships in other areas, with the National Development Council (NDC) proposing jointly raising funds with the Czech Republic to support enterprises in both countries, especially start-ups.
“Maybe we can ponder jointly raising funds with the Czech Republic to invest exclusively in enterprises of both countries,” NDC Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said, adding that Taiwan is already engaged in similar cooperation with other countries.
Kung said that a Taiwanese business delegation is to visit the Czech Republic once the pandemic subsides to enhance economic relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, state-run Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行) and Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China, (中國輸出入銀行) are considering setting up operations in the Czech Republic to take advantage of the growing economic interaction between the countries, the commission said.
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