President Ma Ying-jeou is hoping Taiwan and the European Union can sign a bilateral economic cooperation agreement (ECA) soon. Ma made the comment on Monday while receiving a delegation led by Baroness D’Souza, the speaker of the House of Lords of the British Parliament.
Ma said that Taiwan has had an increasingly close relationship with the European Union and especially with the United Kingdom. He cited the pending extradition of British citizen Zain Dean to Taiwan to serve a prison sentence as an important development in mutual judicial assistance. Taiwan and the UK have also enjoyed closer economic ties as trade volume between two countries reached NT$180 billion (US$6 billion) last year. The president said he hopes Taiwan and the UK can soon sign investment or economic cooperation agreements with countries in the EU.
Baroness D'Souza is the first Lord Speaker to visit Taiwan. She is a British scientist and has a special interest in human rights and development issues. During her two-day visit to Taiwan, the baroness also met with Legislature President Wang Jin-pyng and delivered a keynote speech entitled “Women’s Leadership and Political Participation” at National Taiwan University.