Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio has led a delegation to Taiwan and met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the presidential palace on Monday.
President Tsai thanked the delegation in her speech for the support they have shown Taiwan. This is the first delegation from the Italian Parliament since the new government took office. The president said that she looks forward to deepening the Taiwan-Italy relations, especially with the opening of a representative office in Milan.
In his speech, Centinaio expressed his hope that democratic institutions will blossom around the world and that the democratic camp will continue to grow. He pointed out that the efforts of the Taiwanese government have been recognized by the Italian Foreign Minister and the European Union, and that the G7 has expressed their position of maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Centinaio went on to say that cooperation between Italy and Taiwan should not only be on the economic level, but also in the cultural and political fields.