President Tsai Ing-wen has met with a delegation of French lawmakers from France’s National Assembly.
During the meeting Thursday, Tsai hailed the advancement of Franco-Taiwanese ties over the past year. She said that both houses of France’s Parliament have passed pro-Taiwan resolutions this year that back Taiwan’s participation in international organization. Tsai extended Taiwan’s thanks for the French Parliament’s strong support for Taiwan.
Tsai said that Taiwan and France have enjoyed close ties in recent years, with bilateral exchanges in areas such as trade, disease prevention, technology, and energy producing notable results. She said that as the world faces the challenges of a post-COVID era, she believes that Taiwan and France will have more chances to cooperate in the areas of reorganizing the supply chain, cyber-security, and technological innovation.
She said that France will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of 2022. She said she hopes that France’s leadership will bring further progress towards making a bilateral investment agreement between Taiwan and the EU a reality.
She also said she hopes that Taiwan and France will work together to contribute more to the peace and prosperity of both the Indo-Pacific region and the wider world. She said that as the state of global affairs continues to change rapidly and authoritarianism continues to spread, democratic partners should join together in cooperation.
In addition, Tsai said she hopes to see French cabinet officials visit Taiwan in the near future.