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Newsletter (Issue 027/ 2024) ~Published by Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia~ Website: https://www.roc-taiwan.org/lv/index.html FB: Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia Twitter: @Taiwan_Latvia E-mail:[email protected] Date: March. 4, 2024 1 Taiwan signed joint statement with like-minded countries on support for Ukraine during WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference Taiwan joined more than 40 WTO members at a side event of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the WTO held on Feb. 25 to convey solidarity with Ukraine. The participants, including the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, issued a joint statement expressing support for Ukraine. Taiwan’s participation in the event again underscored its synchronized efforts with the international community to jointly thwart the expansionist ambitions of authoritarian countries and its staunch commitment to protecting the multilateral trade system and ensuring the stability of the global economy. The joint statement reaffirms support for the people and government of Ukraine in their fight for sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and calls for Russia to immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine. It points out that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has produced devastating global and regional impacts and gravely violated the principles and values of the WTO. 2 Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hsieh attended Czechia semiconductor investment opportunity seminar Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kelly Wu- chiao Hsieh attended a seminar on semiconductor investment opportunities in the Czech Republic on Feb. 1 in Taipei City, underscoring the government’s commitment to enhancing two-way economic and business ties. The event involved over 100 officials from the Cabinet-level National Development Council, Ministry of Economic Affairs and CzechInvest, Czechia’s investment and business development agency, in addition to 1  academics and business representatives. In his remarks, Deputy Minister Hsieh pointed out that Taiwan and the Czech Republic have enjoyed close cooperation in areas spanning culture, education, technology and trade over the past 30-plus years. The seminar helps two sides further boost technological innovation and economic growth for a solid bilateral relationship over the next three decades. Foto Credit: Taiwan Today 3 Polish parliament established Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group Polish parliament established Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group on Feb. 22, electing Kryzysztof Truskolaski as the first Chairperson and 4 other parliamentarians as Vice- Chairperson. Over 110 polish parliamentarians have registered for the Taiwan’s friendship group, making it the largest of its kind. 4 US government officially notified Taiwan of latest arms sale Taiwan has received official notification from the US government that its executive branch has informed Congress of an approximately US$75 million sale to Taiwan of advanced tactical data link (Link 16) system upgrade planning. This is the Biden administration’s 13th arms sale package to Taiwan since it assumed office in 2021. It continues the US policy of recent years to normalize arms sales to Taiwan. The announcement demonstrates the US government’s high regard for Taiwan’s defense needs and readiness to assist Taiwan in strengthening its defensive and deterrence capabilities. 5 EU and like-minded countries reaffirmed importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait 1. On February 23, the US Department of State released the text of a joint statement between the United States and the European Union on the outcomes of the sixth high- level meeting of the US-EU Dialogue on China and the fifth meeting of the US-EU High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific. The statement reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and called for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. It further welcomed Taiwan’s vibrant democratic process, including the presidential and legislative elections in January. 2. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 22. During their meeting, the three discussed efforts to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. This follows on the joint statement issued after the August 2023 trilateral leaders’ 2  summit involving the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, which reaffirmed the importance of supporting peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and stressed opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the regional status quo through force or coercion. United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with People’s Republic of China (PRC) Director of the Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 16. After the meeting, the US Department of State issued a press release stating that Secretary Blinken had once again emphasized to Minister Wang the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. 6 Taiwan ranked 1st in Asia in EIU Democracy Index Taiwan retained its ranking of first in Asia and 10th globally in the 2023 Democracy Index released on Feb. 15 by London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. Receiving an overall score of 8.92 out of 10, Taiwan finished ahead of Japan, 16th; South Korea, 22nd; Malaysia, 40th; and China, 148th, with Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Sweden and Finland topped the list. The report assessed a total of 167 countries and territories in five main categories: civil liberties; electoral process and pluralism; functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Taiwan received a perfect score in the second category and high marks of 9.41 and 9.29 in the first and third categories, respectively. 7 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) celebrated the opening of its subsidiary in Japan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently held an opening ceremony for its majority-owned subsidiary Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM) in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, bringing together suppliers, customers, business partners, academia and the Japanese government to show appreciation for their continued support and the joint effort that led to the success of the project. 8 German companies in Taiwan optimistic about economic prospect The German Trade Office (GTO) Taipei released its annual business confidence survey on Feb. 21. According to the survey, 46 % of the companies said they are expecting Taiwan’s economy in 2024 to improve compared to 2023. The companies’ prediction for the next 3 years are more optimistic, with 59.2% saying they expect Taiwan’s economy to improve. Germany has become Taiwan’s 2nd largest investing country in 2023 with 3  over $ USD 1.553 billion of investment. 9 Taiwan and the US signed International Development Cooperation MOU Taiwan and the US signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on International Development Cooperation on Feb. 22. Under the agreement, Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund and the DFC will explore cooperation in areas including healthcare, women’s empowerment, ICT, agriculture, climate, energy, small and medium-sized enterprises, and infrastructure. The signing of this MOU facilitates cooperation between the DFC and its partners in Taiwan. This will empower both sides, as well as the private sector and civil society, to collaborate in creative and diverse ways on development cooperation in third countries. 10 Taiwan and India signed MOU on labor force Taiwan and India concluded a memorandum of understanding on Feb. 16 to facilitate employment of Indian workers in Taiwan. The two sides will schedule meetings to discuss the number of workers and the industry sectors they are needed for. Taiwan and India have been expanding cooperation in recent years in areas such as culture and education, investment, science and technology, medicine and public health. Foto Credit: Taiwan Today 11 Brussels-Capital Region Parliament of Belgium passed resolution in support of Taiwan The Brussels-Capital Region Parliament of Belgium passed a resolution on Taiwan’s status in the international arena after a plenary review on Feb. 23, with 70 votes in favor, 10 abstentions, and none against. The resolution calls for the government of the Brussels- Capital Region to encourage the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation to support diplomatic work aimed at defusing tensions in the Asia-Pacific. It endorses Taiwan’s participation in such international organizations and mechanisms as the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 4 5