Poland sees considerable potential to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan, especially in the fields of trade and technology, Poland’s top envoy to Taiwan said.
“Taiwan is an attractive trade partner for Poland and, I believe, for other countries in central and eastern Europe,” Bartosz Rys, acting head of the Polish Office in Taipei, said in an interview with the Central News Agency.
Poland could be a great fit for Taiwanese companies looking to relocate their manufacturing or business operations to Europe due to its strategic location, good infrastructure, large domestic market, strong consumption and highly skilled workers, Rys said.
Photo courtesy of the Polish Office in Taipei via CNA
The potential for cooperation between Poland and Taiwan on electric vehicles (EV) could be particularly fruitful, he said.
“Poland is the biggest supplier of lithium-ion car batteries or their components in Europe. Overall, the prospects for cooperation between Polish and Taiwanese companies in the EV industry look very promising,” he said.
Rys also suggested that Taiwan could participate in the Three Seas Initiative and the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund to strengthen its cooperation with nations bordering the Adriatic, Baltic and Black seas, in the development of infrastructure in the energy, transport and digital economy sectors.
The initiative is a forum of 12 EU states — Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The initiative welcomes nations and enterprises that share the same basic values and principles to participate in specific projects, Rys said.
The acting representative also sees potential for Polish products in the Taiwanese market, ranging from beverages to chocolates and cosmetics to ceramics.
“Taiwanese consumers have shown great interest in Polish products and we are also receiving more queries from Polish companies on doing business in Taiwan,” he said. “I hope this growing mutual interest will result in new trade opportunities and ultimately more Polish products being available in Taiwan.”
In the areas of education and people-to-people exchanges, Rys said that more than 1,000 Taiwanese students are enrolled at Polish universities.
In addition, as many as 1,000 Taiwanese doctors who graduated from Polish medical universities have been on the front line fighting the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan, he said.
Poles are also now more aware of Taiwan’s rich culture and beautiful landscapes than they were several years ago, when most primarily saw Taiwan as a manufacturer of computers and consumer electronics, he added.
Rys also announced that Poland would be the Guest of Honor at the Taipei International Book Exhibition in 2023.
“This will be a great opportunity to delve into Polish culture and literature, and hopefully meet Polish writers in person,” Rys said. “We also expect a high-level delegation from Poland at the opening ceremony.”
Rys said Poland’s donation of COVID-19 vaccine shots to Taiwan “reflects our solidarity and desire to help those in need.”
A shipment of 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Poland arrived in Taiwan on Sept. 5, making the European nation Taiwan’s third-largest vaccine donor after Japan and the US.
“I personally hope our donation will help Taiwan speed up the vaccination rollout” and ensure more people are protected against COVID-19, he said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS