TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed the hope Taiwan could deepen its ties with the European Union as she met with the head of the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taiwan on Wednesday (Jan. 22).

In a meeting with Filip Grzegorzewski, the EU representative to Taiwan, Tsai thanked the EU for its continued support of Taiwan. Taiwan will work with like-minded countries and organizations including the EU in a bid to uphold democratic values and foster economic growth and development, she said.

Tsai made a case for strengthened ties between the two sides, building on what has been achieved, naming wind energy as an example. She urged the EU to facilitate the signing of a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) with Taiwan, an accord she believes will further bolster bilateral trade, though talks on the subject have been stalled due to alleged interference from Beijing.

As Taiwan finds itself battling yet another disease outbreak originating in China, the president took the opportunity to stress the need to include the island country in the collective global effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Taiwan has been barred from participating in the World Health Assembly for three consecutive years due to pressure from Beijing.