A high-level delegation from Taiwan, headed by the chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), James Huang, visited Israel this week in order to visit Israeli high-tech companies and explore business opportunities between Israel and Taiwan.

The President and CEO of TAITRA, Walter Yeh, hosted an important seminar in Tel Aviv on Sunday aimed at developing ties between start-ups from both countries and to reveal the opportunities to expand Israeli technologies to the Asian market.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Yeh and the Director General of the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute, Gadi Arieli, to increase cooperation between the two countries in trade and economic development in the private and public sectors.

The two sides will assist each other in joint ventures and reciprocal visits, and each side will assist the other in various exhibitions, conferences and events.

Taiwan exported $700 million to Israel in 2017. This represents a 13.8 percent increase over previous years. Taiwan imported about $1 billion from Israel in 2017, an increase of 10.6 percent compared to the previous year.

“Israel is the hub for global high-tech industries, and Israel is the start-up nation,” Huang told Arutz Sheva. “So we came to Israel to seek strategic cooperation in the fields of start-up and high-tech industries and also major capital corporations.”

“In the future we intend to bring more Taiwanese companies to Israel and we will also invite leading Israeli companies to come to Taiwan and showcase their technologies,” he added.

Huang pointed out the difference in cultures in Israel and Taiwan but said, “I do think the two countries can complement each other in a perfect manner.”

Kuoboug Chang from the Taiwanese Embassy in Israel noted that Taiwan and Israel have many similarities.

“We’re both ancient people, a history of a thousand years, and also very small countries surrounded by some enemies. We’re also similar in the fields of science and technology so we have a lot of room to cooperate,” he said.

High-level delegation from Taiwan visits Israel
High-level delegation from Taiwan visits IsraelGil Hadani