François Chihchung Wu
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
June 10, 2026
(As Prepared for Delivery)
The Honorable Maya Yaron, Representative of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei;
The Honorable Israel Strulov, Representative-designate of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei;
Mrs. Patricia Liao（廖婉如，林部長夫人）;
Distinguished guests; Ladies and gentlemen:
Good evening. Erev tov.
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is my great honor to join you in celebrating the 78th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel.
Over the past year, our exchanges have continued to flourish. Taiwan welcomed a 50 percent increase in visitors from Israel, including more than 10,000 business travelers. We were also honored to welcome cross-party delegations from the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, as well as numerous delegations from various sectors. These frequent exchanges reflect the close cooperation and deepening partnership between Taiwan and Israel across many fields. Indeed, Taiwan and Israel are not only partners—we are true friends.
Our economic relationship is equally impressive. Israel is Taiwan’s largest non-energy trading partner in the Middle East, while Taiwan is Israel’s fifth-largest market in Asia. In 2025, bilateral trade grew by 25 percent to reach US$3.1 billion. Last year, Taiwan and Israel reached another important milestone by signing two landmark MOUs on Intellectual Property Cooperation and the Patent Prosecution Highway. These agreements will not only strengthen the patent portfolios of businesses in both countries, but also leverage our complementary technological strengths to foster innovation and drive industrial development. As NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has described Taiwan as “the epicenter of the AI revolution,” and as Elon Musk has observed that nearly all advanced AI chip fabrication is concentrated in Taiwan, I am confident that Taiwan’s semiconductor strengths and Israel’s world-renowned innovation ecosystem will create even greater opportunities in the AI era.
Yet our partnership is built on far more than economic interests. At a time when authoritarianism continues to challenge the rules-based international order, Taiwan and Israel share the conviction that only by strengthening our self-defense capabilities and whole-of-society resilience can we protect our people and our democratic way of life. By deepening cooperation in innovation, emergency response, medical preparedness, and whole-of-society resilience, we can contribute not only to the security and prosperity of our peoples, but also to regional peace and stability.
Before closing, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Representative Maya Yaron for her outstanding service over the past three years. Through your commitment and dedication, you have helped bring our two countries even closer together. We wish you every success in your next assignment, and we hope that Taiwan will always be a second home to you. I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to Representative-designate Israel Strulov. Building on the strong foundation you have helped establish, we look forward to welcoming you officially to Taiwan and to working closely with you to further deepen Taiwan–Israel relations in the years ahead.
On this special occasion, I wish the people of Israel continued peace, prosperity, and success. May the friendship between Taiwan and Israel continue to flourish, and may our two freedom-loving nations continue to stand together, grow stronger, and build a more peaceful and prosperous world while ensuring our peoples will always remain free to determine our own future.
Thank you. Todah.