Taiwan foreign minister visits Brussels, expresses gratitude over deepening ties with EU

Taiwan's Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu met with members of the European Parliament in Belgium and expressed gratitude for the last week's approval of a resolution asking the European Union (EU) to deepen its political ties with Taipei.

He asked for the cooperation of the EU to further strengthen relations and called for further deepening of relations between the two sides, including starting investment agreement negotiations, reported NHK World.

He called it very significant for the future development of relations between Taiwan and the bloc.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said Joseph Wu held talks with members of the European Parliament and the Federal Parliament of Belgium in Brussels on Friday.

Wu visited Slovakia and the Czech Republic earlier this week. The Taiwanese government had announced the visit in advance. It is rare for Taiwan to give prior notification of visits by its foreign minister to countries with which it has no diplomatic ties, reported NHK World.

NHK has confirmed that Wu visited Poland before heading to Belgium, although Taiwan's foreign ministry has not announced the visit.

Wu also urged the EU to reach a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) with Taiwan to strengthen business ties between Taiwan and Europe, reported Focus Taiwan.

Speaking virtually at a conference organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) in Rome, Italy, Wu noted that the EU is the biggest investor in Taiwan while Taiwan invests relatively little in Europe.

"And therefore we think we need to make a balance," he said when answering a question raised by a European parliamentarian on what the EU could do to enhance bilateral relations, reported Focus Taiwan.

The IPAC event was meant to serve as a "counter-meeting" ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit to demand a tougher stance toward the Chinese government, according to an IPAC press release.

Wu was among people targeted by China's government, including Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration, former Hong Kong Legislator Nathan Law, and Uyghur artist and activist Rahima Mahmut, who have been invited to attend the Friday conference, reported Focus Taiwan.

China's foreign minister Wang Yi is also on a European tour this week.

China's foreign ministry said Wang told his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias that it is important to "prevent the attempts of some individual countries to challenge the One-China principle and undermine the political mutual trust between China and Europe", reported NHK World.

( With inputs from ANI )