Taipei: In a meeting with Lithuania's new trade representative to Taiwan, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung has pledged Taipei's willingness to promote closer bilateral ties, following a call by the Baltic state for more investment from Taiwan.
According to Focus Taiwan, Lin shared on social media that he met with Karolis Pilipauskas, who assumed his role as Lithuania's trade representative to Taiwan earlier this year, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) headquarters on Monday. Lin highlighted that the Lithuanian government had recently put forward an initiative to increase Taiwanese investment in Lithuania, which MOFA is seriously considering. He expressed Taiwan's eagerness for enhanced bilateral cooperation based on the existing foundation.
Lin emphasized the importance of continued collaboration in areas such as semiconductor development, artificial intelligence, green energy, and drone technology, aiming to bolster democratic supply chain resilience. Public records indicate that before his current appointment in Taipei in February, Pilipauskas was the sales and marketing director of the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone in Lithuania.
Relations between Taiwan and Lithuania have strengthened over recent years, with both sides establishing reciprocal representative offices in Vilnius in 2021 and in Taipei in 2022. Last week, Eric Huang, head of MOFA's Department of European Affairs, mentioned that a proposal for increased Taiwanese investment in Lithuania, received in March, is currently under review. This proposal builds upon existing cooperation in fields such as lasers, medical AI, and fintech.
Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) reported on April 1 that Lithuania's Foreign Ministry had devised an action plan, identifying priority economic sectors and potential projects to enhance cooperation with Taiwan. According to MOFA, Taiwan has invested over 16.8 million euros (US$19.35 million) in Lithuania since 2021.