Taiwan delegation to hold investment forum, talks during Europe trip

London, Oct. 19 (CNA) A Taiwan trade delegation led by National Development Council (NDC) chief Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) will be holding high-level economic consultations in the Czech Republic and a trade and investment forum in Lithuania when it visits those two European countries and Slovakia later this week.

The NDC head is scheduled to depart Taiwan on Wednesday night with a 60-plus-member delegation to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania, as part of the Taiwan government's strategy to boost trade and economic ties with Central and Eastern European countries.

The delegation will first arrive in Slovakia Thursday and will stay before they head to the Czech Republic on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to a press release issued by the Czech-Taiwanese Business Chamber, the Taiwanese delegation is visiting Prague from Oct. 23 to 26 in the largest-ever business visit from Taiwan to the Central European country.

The delegation will also take part in the fifth edition of Czech-Taiwanese bilateral economic consultations in Prague, which will be a deputy-minister-level trade talk, according to the press release.

The Czech side will be represented by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Martina Tauberová, while the Taiwanese delegation will be led by Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺).

The Taiwanese delegation will also hold meetings in the Czech Republic's Senate and meet with representatives of CzechInvest, CzechTrade, and the Confederation of Industry and Transport, according to the chamber.

Representatives of Taiwanese companies will meet with their Czech counterparts in the morning of Oct. 25 for individual discussions on possible cooperation.

NDC head Kung will deliver an address at Charles University about Taiwan's economic role in the post-pandemic era on the afternoon of the same day, it added.

Meanwhile, in response to an inquiry about the Taiwanese delegation's itinerary in Lithuania, Enterprise Lithuania, an agency under the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, told CNA that the delegation is expected to stay in the country from Oct. 26 to 29.

The Taiwanese delegation will feature 40 Taiwanese companies, business associations and other organizations that intend to invest in Lithuania, buy Lithuanian products, and organize tourist trips to Lithuania, according to the agency.

On Oct. 28, the Lithuanian-Taiwanese trade and investment forum business meetings will be held to promote business cooperation between the two countries, it said, adding that promising areas of cooperation include biotechnology, information technology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, sustainable mobility, green energy, and the food sector.