|
Taiwan
has won
Ukraine
's cooperation in its quest for simplifying visa issuance for Taiwanese
applicants following its signing of a protocol on
Ukraine
's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dec. 14, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced on December 21.
In a routine MOFA press conference, Cheng Chau-yuan, who is in charge of
economic and trade affairs at the ministry, explained that under the protocol,
the two sides have agreed to speed up the visa issuance process and designate
their representative offices in
Tokyo
and
Moscow
to serve as windows for application documents.
It is expected that the offices will begin
the new visa operations, as well as those related to business interactions
between the two countries, by February, when
Ukraine
is expected to enter the WTO as a member, Cheng said.
Ukraine
, a solid ally of
China
, has been harsh in managing
Taiwan
businessmen's visa and trade-related applications. With the protocol,
Taiwan
can complain to the WTO about any of
Ukraine
's future moves that violate its promises listed in the agreement, Cheng noted,
adding it is the first time
Taiwan
has forged an "institutionalized relationship" with a non-ally
through the WTO.
A total of 50 WTO members have requested
talks with
Ukraine
prior to its WTO accession and
Taiwan
is the 49th country to have completed such talks.
According to official statistics, bilateral
trade between
Taiwan
and
Ukraine
was valued at US$257 million in 2005, down 41 percent from the year-earlier
level, with
Taiwan
posting a trade deficit of US$12 million with the country.
During the first three months of 2006,
exports from
Taiwan
to
Ukraine
rose significantly to US$31.93 million from US$15.2 million in the same period
of 2005, marking an increase of 108 percent.
Taiwan
's exports to
Ukraine
are mainly machinery, textiles, consumer electronic products and consumer
products. Major imports from
Ukraine
include aluminum, iron, steel, zinc and cotton.
(Source: Central News Agency)
| 