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Judicial pact signed with Slovakia
Taiwan and Slovakia have signed an agreement on Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters. It is the first of its kind signed by Taiwan with a European Union member state.
The pact was signed at a ceremony in Taipei by Taiwan's top representative to Slovakia, David Lee and Martin Pod-stavek, Slovakia's top representative to Taiwan. The event was witnessed by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Justice Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang as well as Slovakia's National Council Deputy Speaker, Milan Laurencik who is currently leading a delegation to Taiwan.
Wu is describing the agreement as another "extraordinary milestone" in bilateral ties that gives Taiwan and Slovakia a comprehensive framework for cooperation on judicial issues. The foreign minister says "by establishing the framework, Taiwan is expanding the freedom and rights of its people while enhancing ties with Slovakia." The two countries signed an agreement on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters in August 2021.
In other diplomatic relations news, a delegation of visiting French senators is slated to hold talks with President Tsai Ing-wen later today to discuss the promotion of closer two-way exchanges. The delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a six-day visit. It's being led by Joel Guerriau, the vice chairman of the French Senate's Taiwan Friendship Group and vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and the Armed Forces.
Speaking in his arrival, Guerriau praised Taiwan as a vibrant democracy and expressed hope of forging closer bilateral ties and he also thanked Taiwan's top envoy to Paris, Francois Wu for doing a good job in promoting Taiwan in France. The delegation is the third group of French lawmakers to visit Taiwan in the past 10 months.
Along with meeting with the president today, the delegation is also scheduled to hold talks with other top government officials. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says those talks will focus on global and regional security issues, technology innovation, and industry supply chains.
