Taipei, March 14 (CNA) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský expressed support for Taiwan’s international participation during a phone call Wednesday.
According to a statement released by State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, Blinken and Lipavský discussed exploring “deeper cooperation on energy issues and on supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international fora.”
They also discussed the importance of shared democratic values, the statement added.
In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) on Thursday thanked both countries’ top diplomats for their support.
Liu said that Taiwan would continue to work with the United States, the Czech Republic and other like-minded countries to expand the nation’s global participation and contribute to global peace.
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic have warmed up over the past few years, despite a lack of official diplomatic relations.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) twice visited the Czech Republic, in 2021 and 2023, where he gave public addresses.
After Czech President Petr Pavel was elected in January, 2023, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) held a brief congratulatory phone call with him.
The call was a rarity, as political leaders in countries that formally recognize Beijing instead of Taipei normally refrain from direct contact with Taiwanese leaders to avoid angering China.
Prior to her call with Pavel, the last publicized phone call made by Tsai to the president-elect of a country without diplomatic relations with Taiwan was to Donald Trump in December 2016.
