TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Lithuania’s Vice Minister of Transport and Communications Agne Vaiciukeviciute visited Kaohsiung on Tuesday (August 9) in hopes of forging town-twinning partnerships between the southern Taiwanese port city and Klaipeda, Lithuania, also a port city.
Vaiciukeviciute also sought cooperation with Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC). Accompanied by an 11-member delegation, the vice minister met with TIPC Chairman Li Hsian-yi (李賢義) and Kaohsiung Port Vice President Wang Chin-jung (王錦榮), CNA reported.
Li said the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania has one of the largest annual loading and unloading capacities among ports in the Baltic Sea. He thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for providing this opportunity to discuss issues with Lithuania, including environmental management and the development of smart facilities at Kaohsiung Port.
Li also said he expects to promote cooperation between Taiwanese and Lithuanian ports in the future.
To welcome the vice minister and her delegation to Kaohsiung, Deputy Mayor Lo Ta-sheng (羅達生) hosted a banquet Tuesday night. Vaiciukeviciute said Taiwan and Lithuania are democratic partners and the delegation was very pleased to see that the Lithuanian trade office in Taiwan will be established in September.
The vice minister said the opening of the office will boost stronger bilateral economic and trade cooperation in the future. She added that besides strengthening exchanges with TIPC, she also looks forward to promoting Kaohsiung and Klaipeda as sister cities.
Lo said that Asia’s New Bay Area is another important development project for Kaohsiung. The cruise terminal at Kaohsiung Port will be completed by the end of this year, he said.
The new terminal will be a hub for incoming cruise ships and will be able to accommodate more passengers, Lo said. He suggested that Kaohsiung and Lithuania could cooperate in this area in the future.
The deputy mayor added that he looks forward to promoting port cooperation with Klaipeda and achieving success together.
The Vaiciukeviciute delegation consists of 11 government officials and representatives from the electric bus industry. Their five-day visit aims to deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation on smart and green transportation, 5G communications and electric buses.
The group will return to Lithuania on Thursday (11 August).
