Taiwan funds accessible to other European nations besides Lithuania: MOFA

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday that all countries in central and eastern Europe, not just Lithuania, are eligible to access two special Taiwan funds allocated to help strengthen economic and trade relations in that region.

MOFA issued the statement after an opposition lawmaker earlier this week asked for accountability regarding the Central and Eastern Europe Credit Fund of US$1 billion (NT$31.8 billion) and the Central and Eastern Europe Investment Fund of US$200 million that were established in 2022.

In a TV talk show on Monday, opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) claimed that the Taiwan government had set up the two funds to invest in Lithuania after opening the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius in 2021.

He called on the government to explain how the money was being spent and why Taiwan had been accused by several senior Lithuanian government officials, including outgoing Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė, of failing to deliver on the economic promises made when it opened the representative office.

In response, MOFA said that all countries in central and eastern Europe, not just Lithuania, are eligible to apply to access the funds.

To date, the funds have provided loans to businesses in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania, as well as to Taiwanese companies investing in those three countries, helping to facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation, MOFA said.

The Taiwanese companies operate in sectors such as semiconductors, optical lasers, biotechnology, healthcare, and finance, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, trade between Taiwan and Lithuania has been growing since the two countries opened reciprocal trade offices in Vilnius and Taipei in 2021 and 2022, respectively, MOFA said.

In 2025, Taiwan's imports from Lithuania rose by 63.36 percent from the previous year to approximately US$60 million, MOFA said. Taiwan's exports to the Baltic state grew by 13.6 percent from 2024 to US$105 million in 2025, the ministry said.

That data demonstrates the success of the cooperation and exchanges between the two sides, MOFA said.

Relations between Taiwan and Lithuania have warmed in recent years after the two sides established reciprocal representative offices.

Beijing strongly objected to Lithuania's 2021 decision to allow the use of "Taiwanese" in the name of Taiwan's representative office in Vilnius, arguing that it implies Taiwan is a sovereign country separate from China.

China, which views Taiwan as part of its territory, then recalled its ambassador to Vilnius, expelled Lithuania's ambassador to Beijing, suspended direct freight rail services and restricted Lithuanian exports to the Chinese market.

After a new government took office in late 2024 in Lithuania, the country sought to revive its diplomatic ties with China but did not ask Taiwan to change the name of its representative office in Vilnius.