July 11, 2017
No.115
A 10-member delegation comprising members of the parliaments of the Baltic nations is visiting Taiwan from July 10 to 15, 2017, at the invitation of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Led by Ainars Latkovskis, chairman of the Group for Interparliamentary Relations with Taiwan in the Saeima, Lativia’s parliament; Valerijus Simulik, deputy head of the Parliamentary Group for Relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the Seimas, Lithuania’s parliament; and Lauri Luik, a member of the Taiwan Support Group in the Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament, the group will engage in parliamentary exchanges and seek to gain a better understanding of recent political, economic and cultural developments in Taiwan, thereby promoting the advancement of bilateral relations between Taiwan and the Baltic nations.
During their stay in Taiwan, the delegation will meet with Vice President Chen Chien-jen, Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan and Tainan City Mayor Lai Ching-te, as well as attend functions hosted by Legislative Speaker Su and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chih-Chung Wu. The delegation will also call at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Armed Forces Reserve Command, Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture, National Health Insurance Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, the Taiwan External Trade Council, the Institute for Information Industry, and the Chinese Association of Human Rights, as well as visit a number of other sites of economic and cultural interest, including the National Palace Museum, Southern Taiwan Science Park, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, and Taipei 101.
Other members of the delegation include Jānis Trupovnieks from Latvia; Jüri Jaanson from Estonia; and Kazys Starkevičius, Rimantė Šalaševičiūtė, Aušra Papirtienė and Gintaras Vaičekauskas from Lithuania. Two of the delegation leaders, Mr. Latkovskis and Mr. Simulik, have visited the ROC before, while all other members of the delegation are visiting Taiwan for the first time.
Taiwan and the Baltic nations share in common such core values as freedom, democracy and respect for human rights. Going forward, MOFA will continue to build upon this foundation by actively promoting bilateral cooperation and exchange with Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in such areas as trade and economics, academia, and culture and education. (E)