President Tsai promotes EU-Taiwan Bilateral Investment Agreement - Main contents
The President met this week with a delegation from the European Parliament led by Dutch representative Hans van Baalen
Tsai thanked the delegation for their strong support for Taiwan over the years, while also expressing optimism that Taiwan and the EU might soon come to an agreement to sign a formal bilateral investment agreement (BIA) to enhance relations via business and trade.
Hans van Baalen, who heads the delegation, is the leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy in the European Parliament, and the President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. Van Baalen, from the Netherlands, last visited Taiwan for the inauguration ceremony of Tsai in 2016, reports Liberty Times.
Speaking on new possibilities to enhance cooperation between Taiwan and the EU, President Tsai noted that as Taiwan seeks to pursue industrial innovation with the “Five plus two” initiative, there are plenty of opportunities for Taiwanese and European companies to form beneficial partnerships.
As Taiwan pursues its goal of increasing renewable energy to account for 30 percent of the country’s energy needs by 2030, many European firms are already partnering with Taiwanese firms to cooperate in these quickly developing industries.
With a formal bilateral investment agreement between the EU and Taiwan, these new “Green Energy” platforms could grow even more quickly, providing benefits and lucrative opportunities for growth for both companies and workers in Europe and Taiwan.
At the meeting Tsai reportedly encouraged van Baalen to consider supporting these crucial industries, and to do his part to help persuade the European Parliament and European Commission to approve a BIA as soon as possible.
Tsai also spoke on Taiwan relations with the Netherlands, stating that the two countries have been steadily increasing interaction with one another over the past few years, a trend which Taiwan hopes will continue. Tsai said she hopes the two countries can establish regular mutual exchanges and conduct more diplomatic visits moving forward.
Van Baalen said that he looked forward to working with Taiwan in the future and that he will work towards promoting more cooperation and exchanges between Europe and Taiwan, reports Liberty Times. Tsai hopes that officials like Hans van Baalen will act as friends of Taiwan, and help to speak on Taiwan’s behalf in various international organizations.