Former Kosovo prime minister visiting Taiwan

Taipei, April 17 (CNA) A delegation led by Kosovo's former Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti is in Taiwan to meet with President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德), senior government officials, and local businesses to promote closer bilateral relations.

The delegation, which arrived Tuesday and will be in Taiwan until Saturday, is also expected to meet with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Other scheduled visits include the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Hsinchu Science Park and some medical institutions to engage in parliamentary, economic, technology and health care exchanges, MOFA said.

Other members of the delegation include parliamentarians Artan Abrashi, co-chair of the Kosovo-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group, and Time Kadrijaj, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, ex-Deputy Prime Minister Driton Selmanaj, and representatives of Kosovo's business community, MOFA said.

According to MOFA, the Kosovo-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group, which was established in December 2021, is the first of its kind in the western Balkans.

Hoti served as prime minister of Kosovo from June 2020 to March 2021. He previously visited Taiwan in November 2022 and March 2023.

When Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Taiwan was among a handful of nations that immediately recognized its independence.

At present, more than 100 United Nations members formally recognize Kosovo, but it has not yet become a member of the United Nations.