A Taiwan legislative friendship group aimed at building closer ties with Kosovo was formed on Monday during a video conference link with their counterpart Kosovo-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, which was also established concurrently.
The Taiwanese legislative friendship group, which is composed of 39 lawmakers across party lines, was assembled by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (???), who serves as the chairman of the group, while another DPP lawmaker Ho Chih-wei (???) is the vice chairman, Lo's office said in a statement issued Monday.
The decision to establish the friendship group came after the Kosovo Assembly's Committee on Foreign Affairs approved a motion on June 15 this year to establish a parliamentary group for developing friendship with Taiwan.
The motion was proposed by five Assembly members across the political spectrum, including Adriana Matoshi from the ruling party Lëvizja Vetëvendosje (LVV).
This led Lo to contact the Kosovo Assembly members, resulting in both sides deciding to establish respective parliamentary groups to increase parliamentary exchanges, improve mutual understanding between the people of Taiwan and Kosovo, and jointly expand the two countries' international space, according to the statement.
Hailing the establishment of the Legislative Yuan's first parliamentary friendship association for a Balkan nation, Lo said that the video conference held Monday was a landmark in the development of relations between parliamentarians in Taiwan and Kosovo.
The two countries have many things in common, such as the pursuit of sovereignty and democratic values, and struggling for economic survival and international recognition, Lo added.
When Kosovo formally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Taiwan was among a handful of countries which immediately recognized its independence, Lo noted.
Matoshi, the head of the Kosovo-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, did not attend the video conference as she was in hospital for medical treatment at that time, but several members of the group were present, including Blerta Deliu-Kodra of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, who serves as the vice chairwoman of the group.
Deliu-Kodra said in her remarks delivered during the virtual meeting that there was plenty of room for expanding Kosovo-Taiwan exchanges and that the establishment of the two parliamentary friendship groups marked an important stage in developing bilateral relations.
Most importantly, Kosovo and Taiwan, as two democratic countries, will fight against authoritarianism side by side, Deliu-Kodra added.
During the video conference, the two groups agreed to strengthen efforts in conducting parliamentary exchanges, and facilitating economic and business cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
They also welcomed visits by group members next year, according to the statement.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel