TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lithuania has proposed a plan to Taiwan to increase investment, top foreign policy adviser Asta Skaisgiryte said on Tuesday.

Skaisgiryte said on Lithuania’s News Radio station, “Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy are working together; a certain action plan has been prepared and proposed to the Taiwanese side,” per LRT. “If the Taiwanese side agrees to it, we believe we could host much more from the Taiwanese than we do now,” she added.

Lithuania had high hopes for closer economic cooperation with Taiwan after it opened its Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius in 2021, which led China to protest the move. Beijing decided to downgrade diplomatic ties with Lithuania and reduce bilateral trade. 

Lithuania later opened a trade office in Taipei in 2022. However, officials recently said that Taiwanese investment has been underwhelming, LRT said. 

In 2023, bilateral trade reached NT$4.1 billion (€111.1 million), according to the Lithuanian trade office in Taipei. Exports to Taiwan that year totaled NT$980.1 million, mostly optical products, chemical products, and food products. Imports from Taiwan mostly included machinery and mechanical equipment, totaling NT$3.12 billion.