TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Polish representative to Taiwan Cyryl Kozaczewski said that Kaohsiung would be a priority stopover if a Polish delegation were to visit the country.

Kozaczewski met with Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Friday afternoon (Jan. 7) at the city hall where the two exchanged views on culture, education, and industrial investment.

The diplomat said he was impressed by the number of domestic and foreign companies that have expanded into Kaohsiung. He mentioned that if a Polish delegation were able to come to Taiwan, Kaohsiung would be one of the first cities included on the itinerary, Liberty Times reported.

Chen thanked the Polish government for donating 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan last year and for coordinating chartered direct flights between the two countries.

The mayor said that both Taiwan and Poland are well aware of the value of democracy, and cherish freedom and human rights. This commonality is conducive for cooperation between Kaohsiung and Poland, he added.

Kozaczewski agreed with this sentiment and said he hoped to promote friendly relations between Taiwan and Poland as well as exchanges between Kaohsiung and Polish cities.

Chen also mentioned that Poland is a fast-rising European country with a strong automobile manufacturing industry, which Kaohsiung, having recently invested in electric buses from Foxconn, is interested in, per Liberty Times.

Additionally, the southern Taiwanese city has heavily invested in the development of 5G AIoT and semiconductor manufacturing in order to create a complete industrial ecosystem, Chen said. He added that he has been encouraging Taiwan-Poland business meetings in the near future to expand opportunities for economic and trade exchanges.