Dr. Ming-Yen Tsai
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
December 6, 2022
(As Delivered)
Good evening!
Governor Little, welcome once again to Taiwan! Your visit, coming so soon after your reelection, shows your staunch support of our nation. It underscores the solid relationship between Taiwan and Idaho.
We maintain a long-standing partnership and strong economic ties. Taiwan became Idaho’s largest importer for the first time in 2021 and has been Idaho’s second-largest trading partner overall for three years in a row. This September, thanks to your warm hospitality, members of the 2022 Taiwan Agriculture Trade Goodwill Mission took full advantage of their time in Idaho, signing letters of intent worth 576 million US dollars with their counterparts. The trip was instrumental in our efforts to deepen trade, economic, and agricultural relations.
Our exchanges extend beyond trade to include green energy, semiconductors, aerospace, and industrial innovation. These are important areas of collaboration. In response to unprecedented global challenges, good partners must join together to develop sustainable supply chains.
We are now facing new challenges in the postpandemic era: economic anxiety due to supply chain disruptions; challenges to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region caused by China’s military activities in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and Taiwan Strait; and a humanitarian crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These challenges not only concern Taiwan, the US, and other like-minded countries, but also pose a threat to the rules-based international order.
We appreciate the United States’ rock-solid commitment to Taiwan. Taiwan will continue to bolster its comprehensive cooperation with the United States through various platforms, such as the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, and the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration framework. This will lead to greater collaboration and business opportunities with Idaho’s companies. I understand that 23 companies are receiving Value Partner Awards tonight. This is a testament to the strong ties between Taiwan and Idaho.
I would like to once again express my appreciation to Governor Little and all of our friends from Idaho for your enduring support. I wish you every success and look forward to further cooperation between our two sides. Thank you!