Push being made for Taiwan office in Tallinn: Estonian lawmaker

Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Visiting Estonian parliamentarian Kristo Enn Vaga said Thursday that lawmakers in the Baltic State are working hard to help Taiwan open a representative office.

Speaking with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during a meeting in the Presidential Office in Taipei, Vaga, chair of the Riigikogu's Estonia-Taiwan Friendship Group, said a representative office would strengthen ties "in the next few years and beyond."

At Thursday's meeting, Vaga told Tsai the eight-member crossparty delegation's visit to Taiwan -- a country with which Estonia does not have diplomatic relations -- exemplified a foreign policy based on shared democratic values.

Vaga added that he and his colleagues shared a "common language" with Taiwanese officials.

"It's like coming to the right next door -- even though we are thousands and thousands of kilometers away," Vaga said.

Vaga said there was great potential for Estonia and Taiwan to deepen relations in the information and communications technology sphere, given the two countries' respective strengths in e-governance and semiconductors.

President Tsai, meanwhile, welcomed the visit of Vaga's delegation, during their meeting.

She took the opportunity to thank the Estonian government and the Estonia-Taiwan friendship group for their four consecutive years of support for Taiwan's bid to participate in the World Health Organization and contribute to the international community.

"Taiwan and Estonia are similar in many ways. We share common values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. And we both stand on the front line against authoritarian expansionism," Tsai said.

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, both Taiwan and Estonia have been actively assisting Ukraine, Tsai said.

For instance, Taiwan is currently exploring ways to strengthen cooperation with the Estonian Center for International Development to find ways of helping Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure devastated by Russians, she added.

The Estonian delegation's five-day visit, which concludes on Friday, comes amid an increase in exchanges between Taipei and Tallinn.

Last November, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) gave a rare public speech in Estonia, praising the country's government for its courage in allowing him that opportunity, despite China's protests.

Nov. 9: Wu gives public speech in Estonia amid China protests over Taiwan office

Meanwhile, at the 2023 World Health Assembly, Estonia's Health Minister Riina Sikkut called for Taiwan's inclusion in the international body.

In November last year, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that Tallinn was "ready to accept" the opening of a nondiplomatic Taiwanese economic or cultural office, according to media reports.

Taiwan currently operates similar representative offices in Estonia's neighbors, Lithuania and Latvia.