April 9, 2018
No. 069
The Hon. Graham Stuart MP, UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade, is visiting the Republic of China (Taiwan) from April 9 to 10. The R.O.C. Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes his visit, which will help further strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership between Taiwan and the UK.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Stuart, who is a senior member of the House of Commons and chaired its Education Select Committee between 2010 and 2015, was appointed to his current position in January this year. He is making his first visit to Taiwan, seeking to ensure continued growth of bilateral investment. To that end, he will call at related government agencies and meet with local business leaders to discuss trade, energy, and education exchanges between the two countries, and to explore new opportunities for cooperation.
In recent years, mutual visits between high-ranking officials of Taiwan and the UK have been frequent. The two countries enjoy close economic and trade ties. In 2017, the UK was Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner in Europe, with bilateral trade reaching US$5.75 billion. The UK, meanwhile, is Taiwan’s fifth-largest source of foreign direct investment. Between 1952 and 2017, UK investments in Taiwan exceeded US$9.17 billion. The outlook for bilateral trade remains strong. (E)