TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A delegation of seven members of Panama’s National Assembly, led by Jose Antonio Perez, arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day visit.

Perez, the executive secretary of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, and the delegation will meet with Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and attend a banquet hosted by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), according to the foreign ministry. The group will visit the Legislative Yuan, the Mainland Affairs Council, the National Health Insurance Administration, and the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund.

The group will also tour the Hsinchu Science Park, the National Space Organization, and other facilities. The foreign ministry said the visits will allow the delegation to gain a firsthand understanding of Taiwan’s democratic and diverse society and learn about the role high-tech industries play in global non-Chinese supply chains.

The foreign ministry said Panama and Taiwan are major shipping hubs in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific, respectively, and have close economic and trade links. The ministry noted that Taiwan became Panama’s second-largest export destination after the US last year.

The delegation’s trip aims to strengthen exchanges and lay the groundwork for mutually beneficial cooperation, the ministry said. Panama severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China in 2017.