Taiwan foreign minister meets lawmakers at Europe Parliament

Brussels, Nov. 19 (CNA) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Tuesday was welcomed by a group of European parliamentarians in Belgium as part of his ongoing trip to Europe.

Lin and Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), Taiwan's top diplomat in charge of European affairs, were seen in a photograph posted Tuesday by European Parliament member Rasa Juknevičienė, a Lithuanian politician who served as the Baltic state's defense chief from 2008 to 2012.

Also appearing in the same photograph with Lin, Huang and Juknevičienė were other European Parliament members such as Kathleen Van Brempt of Belgium and Engin Eroglu and Michael Gahler of Germany.

Bernard Guetta from France, Urmas Paet from Estonia, Andrey Kovatchev from Bulgaria, and Rihards Kols from Latvia are also seen in the photo taken during the meeting at the complex of parliamentary buildings in Brussels housing the European Parliament.

In her X (formerly known as Twitter) post, Juknevičienė said she met with Taiwan's foreign minister and Huang, former Taiwanese ambassador to Lithuania, at the European Parliament.

Juknevičienė also wrote that Lin was scheduled to visit Lithuania on Wednesday (European time).

"Many good words were said about cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania. Both sides understand the importance of success," she said in her X post.

While in Belgium, Lin and his delegation also visited the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and was welcomed by Els Van Hoof, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The day before on Monday, Lin visited the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (imec), an international research and development organization headquartered in Belgium focused on nanoelectronics and digital technologies.

In a Facebook post, Lin said he was welcomed by the center's president and CEO Luc Van den hove, and they exchanged views on Taiwan's world-leading semiconductor industry and its role in the world.

Leading a delegation of representatives of 20 Taiwanese drone companies to Lithuania from Nov. 17 to 24, Lin's main goal to Europe is to visit Lithuania to develop business relationships with European companies, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.