The visit by the Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio and his delegation is sincerely welcomed by the government and people of Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said June 14.
The group, which is in Taiwan until June 19, will have an audience with President Tsai Ing-wen and meet with You Si-kun, president of the Legislative Yuan; Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan; Chen Chern-chyi, deputy minister at the Ministry of Economic Affairs; Minister Chen Chi-chung of the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture; National Palace Museum Director Hsiao Tsung-huang; and Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che.
Other highlights of the trip include banquets to be held by You and Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu, as well as calls at an array of the country’s agricultural, economic and cultural facilities.
According to the MOFA, the delegation is the first Italian parliamentary group to visit Taiwan since the European country’s new government was formed in 2022. The visit from high-level lawmakers demonstrated the two countries’ close friendship and rock-solid partnership, the ministry said.
The relationship between Taiwan and Italy is going from strength to strength, the MOFA said, adding that Italian parliamentarians have called on their government to maintain cross-strait and Indo-Pacific peace and stability over the past two years. The delegation members’ signatures on letters from European lawmakers in May that publicly voiced support for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly is also deeply appreciated, the MOFA said, adding that the government will continue to work with Italy in areas spanning arts, culture, trade, technology, talent cultivation and the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises. (YCH-E)
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