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President Lai receives UK business, trade minister of state

President Lai Ching-te urged the U.K. June 30 to publicly support Taiwan’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and jointly develop a prosperous Indo-Pacific.   Lai made the remarks while meeting with Douglas Alexander, minister of state at the U.K.’s Department for Business and Trade, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.   The Taiwan-U.K. relationship has gone from strength to strength in recent years, Lai said. The two sides continue to deepen cooperation in areas such as culture, education, offshore wind power and innovative technologies while establishing regular dialogues in the fields of agriculture, energy, economics and trade, he added.   The U.K. is currently Taiwan’s fourth-largest European trading partner, the president said, adding that the two countries signed agreements on investment, digital trade, and energy and net-zero transition, the three pillars of the Enhanced Trade Partnership framework, earlier that day.   Lai took the opportunity to thank the U.K. government for its long-standing support for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, citing the Strategic Defence Review 2025 and National Security Strategy 2025 published earlier this month. He also expressed appreciation for a motion passed by the House of Commons last November to oppose any attempt to misinterpret U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758.   According to Lai, Taiwan and the U.K. boast highly complementary technology sectors. He concluded by saying that the two sides are indispensable partners amid the restructuring of global supply chains.   In response, Alexander praised the new ETP agreements and reaffirmed the U.K.’s commitment to prosperity and resilience on both sides, as well as cross-strait peace and stability.   The pacts were inked by Vincent Chin-hsiang Yao, head of the Taipei Representative Office in the U.K., and British Office Taipei Representative Ruth Bradley-Jones. Deputy Economic Minister Cynthia Kiang and Alexander also hosted the 27th Taiwan-U.K. Trade Talks June 30 in Taipei, with a focus on artificial intelligence, energy and semiconductors. (YCH-E)   Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw