Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Speaker of the Lithuanian parliament Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for a four-day visit, leading a delegation that includes business representatives.
Upon arrival at around 6 p.m., Čmilytė-Nielsen and her delegation were greeted at Taoyuan International Airport by Taiwan’s Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃).
In a Facebook post, You said that on his last visit to Lithuania in July 2022, he was warmly welcomed by Čmilytė-Nielsen, and he had invited her to visit Taiwan.
Čmilytė-Nielsen happily accepted the invitation, You said, adding that he was extremely pleased to welcome her to Taiwan one year after the invitation was issued.
Her visit to Taiwan is the first by a speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, which is formally called the Siemas.
During her stay Oct. 22-25, Speaker Čmilytė-Nielsen is scheduled to address Taiwan’s Legislature, which will confer an honorary medal on her, and she will hold a press conference in Taipei on Oct. 23, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
The Lithuanian delegation includes the Siemas foreign policy advisor Rolandas Kačinskas and the country’s Vice Minister of Finance Vaida Markevičienė, MOFA said in an earlier press release.
Vilma Mačerauskienė, head of the Financial Markets Policy Department in the Lithuanian Finance Ministry, and business representatives from the Baltic country are also part of the delegation, MOFA said.
Over the next four days, the Lithuanian dignitaries are scheduled to attend a banquet hosted by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and also meet with other top government officials, including Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), MOFA said.
The members of the delegation will also participate in a financial technology forum and visit the Ultrafast Laser Technology Research and Innovation Center in Tainan, which was established jointly in September by Taiwan and Lithuania, a global leader in that type of technology, according to MOFA.
The delegation’s visit is aimed mainly at advancing exchanges and interactions between Taiwan and Lithuania in a wide range of areas, including science, technology and the economy, MOFA said.
In 2021, Beijing imposed sanctions on Lithuania in retaliation for allowing the establishment of the Taiwanese Representative Office in the capital Vilnius, as China is strongly opposed to any actions or optics that imply recognition of Taiwan.
Nonetheless, Lithuania stood firm on the issue, and the Taiwanese office opened its doors last year.
