Taipei-Taiwan’s Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) launched the Taiwan-Lithuania Business Club on Thursday, with Lithuanian and Taiwanese dignitaries and business delegations in attendance.
The establishment of the club was sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Foreign Trade.
Among attendees at the launch were bureau Deputy Director-General William Liu (劉威廉) and Lithuanian Vice Economy and Innovation Minister Karolis Žemaitis.
A delegation made up of representatives from the Baltic state’s bioscience and laser technology industries also attended as part of the group’s seven-day visit to Taiwan, as were individuals from the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China, and Fortress Group, a Taiwanese company based in Lithuania.
Addressing attendees, Žemaitis said in his short stay in Taiwan, he has already witnessed the great strides companies from both nations have made to bring the countries together and ensure mutually prosperous cooperation and partnerships.
Meanwhile, Liu praised the Baltic state’s innovative companies, referencing a visit to Lithuania where he witnessed the recycling of plastic bottles into materials used in EV bus production.
The club was founded to explore the potential of Lithuanian innovation and to cement partnerships in investment, trade and industry, Liu added.
Speaking with CNA, Fortress Group founder Waylon Yeh (葉緯) said entering the Lithuanian market also provides a new entry point into Eastern European nations and perhaps even the European Union.
Yeh, who is one of Taiwan’s first entrepreneurs to invest in the Baltic state, explained that Lithuania has an abundance of resources that provide opportunities to expand into other European markets, even though it might take some time to achieve.
In related news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs MOFA announced that a Lithuania Lifestyle Festival will be held from Sept. 16-29 at the Breeze Super Nanshan Store.
MOFA Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs (ICEA) Deputy Director-General Isaac Chiu (邱陳煜) said thanks to governmental and private sector efforts in both countries, bilateral relations between Taiwan and the Baltic state will expand from business-to-business to business-to-consumer.
The festival is an example of this achievement, as it is organized by ICEA and Lithuania’s Public Institution Rural Business and Markets Development Agency (LitFOOD), Chiu said.
The festival will promote products from 12 of Lithuania’s lifestyle companies, as well as featuring the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the ICEA and LitFOOD on Sept. 16.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel