TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Minister of the National Development Council (NDC) Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) will lead a cross-ministry delegation to Europe in early June to discuss the digital economy with European Union officials.

The delegation will be tasked with holding the first-ever dialogue with EU representatives on the digital economy, said Chen on Monday (May 27), as reported by Central News Agency. The dialogue is expected to cover a wide range of topics, such as artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, information security, 5G, and the digital transformation of traditional businesses.

Taiwan has established similar platforms with the United States, and now with the EU. The ministry looks forward to forging similar connections with other economies in the future, added Chen.

The Taiwan delegation will also conduct negotiations with the EU over General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which was implemented by the EU last May and concerns individual data protection and privacy.

NDC began seeking an adequacy decision from the EU at the end of 2018, providing a self-evaluation report for the EU to determine if Taiwan has an adequate level of data protection. The matter will be further discussed during the trip, said Chen.

The delegation will also discuss with EU officials about Taiwan’s data protection situation and what more needs to be done; for instance, establishing a designated agency, added Chen.

Officials responsible for technology, telecommunications, information technology, and industrial development from other ministries will join NDC for the trip. Chen added the delegation will also visit the Netherlands and Estonia to observe the development of startups and digital advances in these two countries.