Minister of Economic Affairs Mei-Hua Wang conferred the Medal of Economic Contribution to the Head of Trade Section of the EETO Thomas Jürgensen in a presentation ceremony held at the Ministry of Economic Affairs on July 26, 2022.

Mr. Jürgensen was presented with the medal, the highest honor bestowed by the Ministry, in recognition of his outstanding dedication to and achievements in promoting closer bilateral economic, trade, industrial and investment ties while serving in the EETO over the past five years.

Minister Wang remarked at the ceremony that Mr. Jürgensen has relentlessly promoted bilateral economic and trade ties during his term, serving as the most reliable bridge between Taiwan and the EU.

Minister Wang also noted that Mr. Jürgensen was instrumental in boosting bilateral investment and industrial cooperation. For example, the"EU Investment Forum" has been jointly held by the EETO and the Ministry of Economic Affairs for two years, helping Taiwanese companies access potential business opportunities in Europe. Mr. Jürgensen also assisted in establishing the EU-Taiwan Offshore Wind Working Group to facilitate the development of Taiwan's wind power industry.

Mr. Jürgensen also spoke at the ceremony and recalled that since his arrival in Taiwan, the annual trade in goods and services between the EU and Taiwan had  grown significantly to 73 billion euros by 2021, while the EU’s investments in Taiwan has increased 37.3% since 2017.

Furthermore, the level of exchanges and dialogues between the EU and Taiwan has also been upgraded. The "EU-Taiwan Trade and Investment Dialogue" held in June this year was upgraded to the levels of Minister and Director-General for the first time, while both sides broadened the agenda to cover strategic issues of mutual interest. The visit of Vice-President of the European Parliament Nicola Beer last week also marked the first formal visit by a high-level European Parliament official. These events demonstrate the closer economic and trade exchanges between the EU and Taiwan due to our joint efforts.

Mr. Jürgensen added that despite being geographically far apart, the EU and Taiwan are actually very close when it comes to sharing the same values and interests. He also looks forward to deepening bilateral relations through further cooperation between both sides.

The award presentation ceremony was held in the MOEA's main auditorium, with dozens of prominent officials from Taiwan and Europe, as well as representatives of various businesses and industries, taking part.