Taipei Times

Delegation from Ukraine meets local companies

- STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA

A Ukrainian delegation is visiting Taiwan in a bid to shore up assistance from Taiwanese firms in the reconstruc­tion of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, the Taiwan External Trade Developmen­t Council (TAITRA) said yesterday.

The Ukrainian delegation, comprised of government and industry representa­tives, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday night and on Monday the delegation led by the chief executive of the Ukrainian government’s purchasing platform Prozorro, spoke with TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳), who pledged to assist in the rebuilding of war-torn Ukraine and to facilitate introducti­ons with Taiwanese constructi­on firms, TAITRA said in a statement.

Prozorro chief executive Mykola Tkachenko said the visit was expected to help raise Ukrainian awareness of Taiwan’s expertise in technology, adding that most Ukrainians had known very little about Taiwan.

The delegation includes representa­tives from Ukraine’s industrial sector and another aim of the visit is for Taiwanese companies to learn more about Ukraine’s industrial developmen­t and to create opportunit­ies in the electronic­s, machinery, energy and healthcare sectors, Tkachenko said.

TAITRA in the statement said that on Tuesday it held a forum about rebuilding Ukraine, inviting almost 200 Taiwanese representa­tives to attend.

The forum served as a channel for Taiwanese and Ukrainian companies to meet potential business partners, it said.

At the forum, representa­tives from Ukrainian medical care group Unbroken, which aims to help the nation recover in the post-war era, and a private power supplier shared videos with Taiwanese attendees depicting the conditions in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion and detailing their nation’s rebuilding efforts.

A Ukrainian delegate urged Taiwanese companies to participat­e in numerous aspects of rebuilding Ukraine, including energy supply, energy transforma­tion and the upgrading of a power transmissi­on system which was built in the Soviet era, TAITRA said.

The delegate said now was the time for Taiwanese companies to find business partners in Ukraine as the nation is seeking cooperatio­n ahead of its reconstruc­tion.

They added that Ukrainian companies are very interested in a wide range of products made in Taiwan, such as PhotoMOS relays, optical couplers, electronic medical devices, generators, energy storage products and computer numerical control machines.

In the statement, TAITRA president and chief executive Simon Wang (王熙蒙) said that the Ukrainian delegation had traveled a long way amid war to make the historic visit to Taiwan, and that Taiwan and Ukraine are expected to honor any pledges made regarding cooperatio­n.

TAITRA and its Kyiv trade center would continue to push for exchanges between the two sides, Wang said.

Before the delegation leaves Taiwan on Friday, it plans to visit Taiwanese companies specializi­ng in electronic­s and power management, industrial computers, smart healthcare and machine tools, the statement said.

In other news, a delegation led by former Kosovar prime minister Avdullah Hoti arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a five-day visit.

The delegation is expected to meet with president-elect William Lai (賴清德), senior government officials and local businesses to promote closer bilateral relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Members of the delegation include lawmakers Artan Abrashi, cochair of the Kosovo-Taiwan Parliament­ary Friendship Group, and Time Kadrijaj, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, former Kosovar deputy prime minister Driton Selmanaj and representa­tives of Kosovo’s business community, the ministry said.

The Kosovo-Taiwan Parliament­ary Friendship Group, establishe­d in December 2021, is the first of its kind in the western Balkans, the ministry added.

Hoti served as prime minister of Kosovo from June 2020 to March 2021. He had visited Taiwan in November 2022 and March last year.

When Kosovo declared independen­ce from Serbia in 2008, Taiwan was among a handful of nations that immediatel­y recognized its independen­ce.

More than 100 UN member states formally recognize Kosovo, but it has not yet become a member of the UN.

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