West Asia

As introduced by the Yearbook of the Republic of China:

West Asia extends from Pakistan in the east to Turkey in the west, and from Russia in the north to the Arabian Peninsula in the southwest. It includes 12 nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Mongolia, 17 nations in the Middle East, and Palestine.

Bilateral relations between Taiwan and West Asia have developed steadily based on economic exchanges and technical cooperation, as well as religious, academic, and cultural exchanges. Taiwan has representative offices or economic and cultural offices in 11 West Asian countries, including Bahrain, Belarus, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Mongolia. Israel, Jordan, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Mongolia also have trade offices in Taiwan.

An ROC Pilgrim Mission makes an annual journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, thus promoting cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Islamic nations. In March 2003, the 18th Session of the Saudi-Taiwan Joint Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation was held in Riyadh. Later in July, the Fifth Sino-Israel Economic and Technological cooperation conference took place in Jerusalem. The two conferences have led to closer bilateral business and technology cooperation. In August, the Third Taiwan-US-Israel Trilateral Conference on National Security was held in Taipei with participation of a panel of ten overseas scholars and hundreds of local participants. In March 2003, as a US-led coalition launched military operations in Iraq, the government and people of the ROC promptly collected humanitarian relief items including medicine, food, and blankets, for delivery to Iraqi people affected by the war.

In July 2003, the National Guoguang Opera Company, the Ju Percussion Group, and the Acme Physical Theatre were invited to perform in the Fifth Chekhov Theater Festival in Moscow. In August, the Kaohsiung Port and the Port of Vladivostok signed an Agreement Establishing Sister Port Ties. In September, a Delegation of the Taiwan-Russia Association visited Russia and held a Forum on Taiwan-Russia Cooperation to promote two-way trade.

Mongolian parliamentarians Janlav Narantsatsralt, Dulam Sougar, and Baatar Chadraa, as well as the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Mongolia, Sambuu Demberel, visited Taiwan in February. In June 2003, a delegation of Taiwanese businessmen led by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) went to Mongolia to participate in the International Spring Trade Fair. A delegation of Mongolian businessmen led by Chairman Baasankhuu Ganzorig of the Foreign Investment and Foreign Trade Agency of Mongolia held an Investment and Business Promotion Forum on August 13 in Taipei. An Agreement for Academic Exchange and Cooperation was signed on July 29, 2003, between the National University of Mongolia School of Law and the College of Law of National Taiwan University.