TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), Taiwan’s representative in Thailand, left his post after one year and returned home on Thursday (Aug. 26).

Lee said that in the past year, he made many good friends, and he wished that all Thais will remain safe and healthy during the nation’s third wave of coronavirus. He added that he hopes Thailand will recover from the pandemic as soon as possible.

The representative said that during his term, there has been much progress in promoting Taiwan-Thailand relations. The two countries agreed to mutually accept each other’s driver’s licenses, engaged in bilateral financial cooperation, and organized medical and health exchanges, CNA reported.

He also expressed gratitude towards the overseas Taiwanese community in Thailand for their assistance in cooperative projects. The Taiwan representative office organized medical equipment donations to hospitals in the Southeast Asian nation, gifted firefighting gear to local fire brigades, and handled emergency relief for local residents, which all relied heavily on the help of overseas Taiwanese.

Lee thanked his colleagues at the representative office for their support. He added that he was very pleased with the office’s operations during his term.