July 5, 2024
No. 228
Member of the United Kingdom House of Commons and leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer was appointed by King Charles III on July 5 to serve as prime minister and form a new cabinet. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has instructed the Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom to extend sincere congratulations from the people and government of Taiwan to the people and government of the United Kingdom.
Prime Minister Starmer has visited Taiwan in 2016 and 2018, meeting with then Vice President Chen Chien-jen and then Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san. Since his election as Labour Party leader in April 2020, he has stepped up attention and support for Taiwan and security across the Taiwan Strait. In March of this year, Lord Leong, then Shadow Spokesperson for Business and Trade and Cochair of Labour Friends of Taiwan, led a Labour parliamentary delegation to Taiwan. The delegation met with then President Tsai Ing-wen and conveyed that the Labour Party would continue to enhance bilateral economic, trade, education, and cultural exchanges. The government of Taiwan looks forward to engaging in further cooperation with the new UK government led by Prime Minister Starmer and to strengthening the reciprocal and mutually beneficial bilateral partnership across various domains of concern and importance.
Relations between Taiwan and the United Kingdom have advanced steadily in recent years, with bilateral cooperation growing closer in such areas as the economy, trade, technology, and renewable energy. Following the signing of the benchmark Enhanced Trade Partnership Arrangement last November, the two countries concluded the Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Recognition of Organic Products in May. The fact that the United Kingdom was the first European nation to sign such accords with Taiwan underscores the steady elevation of substantive ties between two countries. The United Kingdom is a like-minded partner of Taiwan, with both sharing the core values of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Taiwan is willing to work with the United Kingdom to further deepen the democratic partnership and jointly safeguard peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. (E)