TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky on Friday (April 29) thanked Taiwan for its donations to the Czech Red Cross for Ukrainian refugees.

In a tweet, Lipavsky said he had recently met with Taiwan’s envoy to the Czech Republic, Ke Liang-Ruey (柯良叡), and expressed gratitude for Taiwan’s generous gift of US$1.5 million (NT$44.17 million). He said that Taiwan and the Czech Republic share common values and that he looks forward to “another great collaboration.”

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) responded on Twitter, saying, "It's a pleasure for Taiwan to work with fellow force for good Czech Republic in assisting Ukraine's people escaping the atrocities of Russia's aggression." He added that there is a lot more work to be done.

Diplomatic officials have suggested the central European country change Taiwan’s representative office’s name to include the word “Taiwanese” after the current China-friendly Czech president, Milos Zeman, retires at the end of this year, per Politico. Lithuania has allowed Taiwan to establish the Taiwanese Representative Office in its capital, Vilnius.

Despite only having unofficial ties, Taiwan and the Czech Republic have grown closer in recent years. Taipei inked a sister-city agreement with Prague in January 2020 after Beijing broke off its sister-city relations when the mayor refused to sign a document accepting the “one China” principle.

A Czech Senate delegation visited Taiwan in August 2020 and met with high-level Taiwanese officials.