Taiwan confirms new investment talks with Lithuania on hold

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday confirmed that Taiwan and Lithuania have agreed to suspend talks on a new economic cooperation project proposed by Lithuania, due to the ongoing formation of a new coalition government in Vilnius.

While noting the suspension, MOFA spokesman Hsiao Kuangwei (蕭光偉) said that Taiwan remains committed to deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation with Lithuania based on shared democratic values.

Hsiao made the comments in response to a Lithuanian media report published Monday, which quoted Lithuania's Foreign Ministry as announcing the decision.

According to the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) report, the pause was prompted by "changes in the domestic political environment."

On June 18, Lithuania's ruling Social Democratic Party formed a new governing coalition with the Union of Democrats "For Lithuania" and the Farmers and Greens Union following the departure of the far-right Nemunas Dawn from the previous ruling coalition in early June.

The coalition paved the way for a cabinet led by Social Democratic Party chairman Mindaugas Sinkevičius.

Lithuania's Foreign Ministry originally proposed an action plan in March outlining priority economic sectors and potential projects aimed at strengthening cooperation with Taiwan.

According to an LRT report at the time, the plan focused on building "sustainable economic ties that would contribute to the development of Lithuania's high-tech sectors" and centers on potential Taiwanese investment in the country, though the exact contents of the proposal were not disclosed.

Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of MOFA's Department of European Affairs, said in April that most of the projects listed in the proposal build on existing cooperation between Taipei and Vilnius in sectors such as lasers, medical AI, and fintech.