CNA file photo

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Taiwan and Japan are set to sign five memorandums of understanding (MOUs) after their annual economic and trade meeting in Taipei Thursday and Friday with the objective of enhancing cooperation between small and medium enterprises (SEM) in the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday.

The closed-door meeting will kick off at the Ambassador Hotel in Taipei Thursday.

Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), head of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association (TJRA), and Mitsuo Ohashi (大橋光夫), chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA), will lead delegations from their respective countries in discussions on a wide range of economic and trade issues during the meeting, the ministry said.

Taiwan is expected to express its interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a sprawling Pacific trade deal led by Japan.

Meanwhile, Japan is likely to voice its hopes that Taiwan will lift a ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures affected by radioactive fallout from the March 11, 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, despite the passage of a referendum to maintain the ban last Saturday.

The 11-member trade pact will come into force in December and the first CPTPP ministerial-level meeting is scheduled in January 2019 to start accession talks for new members.

After the conclusion of the economic and trade meeting Friday, Taiwan and Japan will ink five MOUs to promote bilateral exchange and cooperation between SMEs and improving the quality of medical devices, a ministry official said.

The annual conference, which was first held in 1976, was designed to enhance bilateral economic and trade cooperation and exchange between the two countries.

At last year's meeting in Tokyo, the TJRA and JTEA signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on customs cooperation and cultural exchange.

(By Elaine Hou and Evelyn Kao)Enditem/AW