TAIPEI - Economic Affairs Minister Lin Yi-fu expressed hope
that Taiwan and Japan will set up a free-trade agreement (FTA)
soon.
He made the remarks at a reception held
after the end of a two-day Taiwan-Japanese economic
conference in Taipei.
To
promote economic and trade relations with Japan, Lin
noted, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is
evaluating a report on the possibility of signing an FTA
with Japan. Saying that such an agreement would benefit
both countries, the minister urged Japan to push for the
setting up of an FTA with Taiwan as soon as possible.
Taiwan became a member of the
World Trade Organization in January and the MOEA is now
trying to organize the signing of FTAs with the United
States, Japan, Panama, Singapore and New Zealand.
In response to Lin's remarks, Japan
Interchange Association president Toshio Goto expressed hope
that substantive relations between Japan and Taiwan will
be strengthened.
Although pro-Taiwan Japanese
quarters advocate the signing of an FTA, mainland China
is exerting pressure to prevent the Japanese government
from inking such a pact with Taiwan.
The annual
Taiwan-Japanese economic conference, which has been held
alternately in Japan and Taiwan since 1975, was attended
by more than 200 experts and scholars from the two
countries. The major topics of discussion
included cooperation in the WTO and the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the FTA issue,
agriculture and forestry, medicine, harbor
administration, intellectual property protection and
technical cooperation.
The next meeting will be
held in Japan next year under the joint sponsorship of
the quasi-official Japan Interchange Association and the
Association of East Asian Relations.
