French National Assembly delegation visits Taiwan

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) A French National Assembly delegation led by Marie-Noëlle Battistel, president of the Assembly's Taiwan-France Friendship Group, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a six-day visit.

During their stay, the delegation will meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and other senior officials to enhance bilateral relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement.

Battistel is visiting at the invitation of Taiwan's government and is joined by four other deputies in the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament.

They are Éric Martineau, vice president of the Taiwan-France Friendship Group; Laetitia Saint-Paul, deputy chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Assembly members Marie-Jose Allem and Claudia Rouaux, MOFA said.

While in Taiwan, the delegation will meet with Lai and attend separate banquets to be hosted by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), respectively.

They will also meet with Minister without Portfolio Lin Ming-hsin (林明昕), who is in charge of legal affairs in the Cabinet, and Economic Affairs Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝), as well as pay a visit to the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center in Chiayi.

According to MOFA, Battistel, a member of the National Assembly since 2010, has been actively supporting Taiwan and was just selected as president of the Taiwan-France Friendship Group earlier this year.

This trip, which will conclude on Friday, is Battistel's fourth visit to Taiwan, MOFA said.