Twenty-three tangible accomplishments have been achieved during the Czech delegation’s visit to Taiwan, with bilateral ties in various sectors upgraded to comprehensive partnerships, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
Wu yesterday received Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil and about half of the delegation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei, as the group planned for tonight’s departure after a six-day visit.
There have been concrete developments in trade and investment, scientific research and education, and public healthcare and epidemic prevention between the two nations, Vystrcil said, adding that the Czech government would form task forces to track how the projects progress.
Photo: CNA
Their trip nails down the sovereignty of the Czech Republic while improving cooperation between democratic nations, he said.
Wu said that the delegation’s trip is historically significant for its creation of a cooperation mechanism in which Taiwan and the Czech Republic are like-minded partners.
Enumerating key bilateral achievements, Wu said that on Monday, three memorandums of understanding were signed between Taiwanese and Czech business entities.
Invited to Taiwan by Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), Vystrcil said that You should visit the Czech Republic someday.
The government would continue to sustain ties between sister cities Prague and Taipei, as well as promote exchanges between the Vysocina Region, located near Prague, and local municipalities, Wu said.
Representatives of the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague signed memorandums with National Taipei University of Technology, National Tsing Hua University and Tunghai University, he added.
China Airlines is considering opening direct passenger flights between Taipei and Prague after the COVID-19 situation abates, he said.
On Sunday last week, a chartered flight operated by the airline flew the delegation to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
“A direct flight between Prague and Taipei is on the right track. Representatives of China Airlines (Taiwan’s air carrier) support it,” Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Taiwan Cooperative Bank and Export-Import Bank are evaluating setting up new offshore branches in the Czech Republic, the ministry said later in a news release.
To promote freedom of the press, the ministry is willing to help Czech media outlets set up offices in Taiwan, it said.
The government would ask local universities to offer 50 scholarships to Czech students to come to Taiwan to learn Chinese, the ministry said.
It would promote personnel exchanges between high schools, and exchanges of academics from the Czech Academy of Sciences with Academia Sinica and the National Applied Research Laboratories, it said.
The Prague Philharmonia, whose tour in China last year was canceled by Beijing, would tour Taiwan next year, it said.
Taiwan and the Czech Republic would also exchange exhibitions of works of art, including those curated by the National Palace Museum, the ministry said.
Over the past few days, representatives of 36 Czech firms attended more than 260 meetings and collected more than 1,000 business cards, Czech-Taiwan Business Chamber chairman Pavel Divis said.
Although exhausted due to the tight schedule, the Czech businesspeople are excited about the tangible results that they are taking home, he added.
This afternoon, the delegation is to attend in a forum in Taipei on supply chain restructuring. It is being hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan and is to include European and Japanese representatives.
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