A delegation of senior Slovak government officials arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a visit aimed at promoting parliamentarian interactions and city-to-city exchanges, as well as bilateral cooperation in economic, trade and technology areas.
Slovak National Council Deputy Speaker Milan Laurencik, who leads the delegation, said on arrival that his country supports Taiwan, and the visit is proof of that.
The delegation was greeted at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) and Slovak Representative to Taiwan Martin Podstavek.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Members of the visiting group include Bratislava Region President Juraj Droba and lawmaker Peter Osusky, chairman of the Slovakia-Taiwan Parliamentary Group.
In its news release on Thursday announcing the delegation’s six-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei said the delegation would also comprise Slovak lawmakers Anna Zemanova, Tomas Lehotsky, Miroslav Ziak and Andrej Stancik.
Droba is accompanied by Malacky Mayor Juraj Riha, his secretary Andrea Urmanicova and regional official Michaela Kunska, the ministry said.
Prior to their arrival, Stancik on Facebook described Taiwan as “a superpower in semiconductors and modern technologies” and “an advanced democracy from which we have much to learn.”
The only bad luck Taiwan has is its neighbor China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, he said.
“We will do everything we can to further deepen bilateral relations” between Slovakia and Taiwan, it added.
Aside from meeting with senior Taiwanese government officials, the delegation is to visit Kaohsiung, during which Droba is to sign a partnership agreement with the municipality and take part in an investment fair, the ministry said.
This is the second delegation Slovakia has sent to Taiwan in six months, after a 43-member delegation led by the country’s deputy economics minister visited in December last year.
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