President Ma Ying-jeou says Taiwan and Japan have maintained close trade ties. Ma was speaking Tuesday during his meeting with leading Japanese economist Koichi Hamada.
Hamada is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic advisor. He is also an emeritus professor at Yale and the University of Tokyo.
Japan is Taiwan’s second largest trading partner. Bilateral trade has topped 60 billion US dollars. Ma said the investment agreement Taiwan signed with Japan in 2011 has given both sides new momentum for cooperation.
In addition to over 150 current cooperative projects, the president said Taiwan is planning further collaboration with Japan.
“We have already started to cooperate with Japan’s local governments in areas of biotechnology, food and machinery. The scope of our cooperation is bigger than before,” said Ma.
The president also thanked Japan for welcoming Taiwan to join the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).