President Tsai meets Finland-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group

2023/02/09

President Tsai Ing-wen said Feb. 7 that Taiwan is committed to deepening exchanges with Finland while strengthening democratic resilience in order to generate greater well-being for the people of both countries.
 
Tsai made these remarks while receiving the Finland-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group delegation at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. Led by the group’s chair Mikko Karna, the delegation included fellow lawmaker Tom Packalen and Finland Trade Center in Taiwan Director Lauri Raunio.
 
Ties between Taiwan and Finland have seen significant progress in recent years, Tsai said, citing a remarkable 30 percent growth in bilateral trade in 2021 as evidence.
 
The seventh Taiwan-Finland Trade Talk was held last month in Taipei, with the discussion topics spanning areas like digitalization and green energy transition, Tsai said, adding that she looks forward to further industrial cooperation between the two countries.
 
According to Tsai, in the face of authoritarian expansion, the democratic world must work together to safeguard regional prosperity, supply chain security and the values of freedom and democracy.
 
In response, Karna said Taiwan’s expertise in semiconductors is highly appreciated. He added that Finland is keen on expanding cooperation in the fields of culture, education, research, science and technology with Taiwan while advancing the two sides’ economic and trade partnership.
 
Finland and Taiwan share the common values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law, Karna said, expressing support from the northern European country for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
 
In addition, Karna said the bonds of friendship are growing stronger even though the security environment is becoming more dangerous. China’s aggression should be condemned and Taiwan has the right to decide its own future, he added.


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)