The Taipei Representative Office in Greece hosted the R.O.C. 107th National Day reception at the Hilton Hotel in Athens on October 9th, 2018. A total of 10 Parliament members of the Hellenic Republic were present. The rest of the guests included the ambassadors and diplomats from the Vatican, Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand, Vietnam etc., as well as representatives from the Taiwan expats community, the Hellenic Taiwan Business and Culture Association and Yang Ming Mediterranean Co. The event was attended by approximately 300 people.
To open the event, Representative Sherman S. Kuo gave a brief demonstration of the ASUS robot “Zenbo” who will soon join the Office’s consular section to offer its services. Zenbo the robot was warmly welcome by the guests.
In his remarks, Representative Kuo first pointed out that the R.O.C. government is happy to see the "EU China Relations Report" urging Beijing to end its military intimidation against Taiwan, and supporting Taiwan's international participation and the signing of a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement. He then reviewed the progress of Taiwan-Greece relations this year: The exchange of visits of political and business leaders and people-to-people exchange have increased significantly. The development of economic and trade relations has made good progress. The "Hellenic Taiwanese Business and Culture Association" was established in April this year. Taiwan’s Yangming Shipping Corporation expanded its investment in Greece in April, establishing a new regional center in Piraeus. From January to July, the trade volume between Taiwan and Greece has increased significantly -- Greece’s exports to Taiwan have increased by 260%, and Taiwan’s exports to Greece have increased by 17%.
Given the fact that there is much room for growth for bilateral trade, investment and cooperation between Greece and Taiwan, Representative Kuo called on the Greek government and the guests to support Taiwan’s international participation and to support a Taiwan-EU Bilateral Investment Agreement.
