Senior officials from the United States and Taiwan jointly announced today the launch of the U.S.-Taiwan Digital Economy Forum, which will be held in Taipei later this year. Charles H. Rivkin, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, and Taiwan Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, Bill Cho Shi-chao, made the announcement today in remarks at the opening of the COMPUTEX exhibition in Taipei. Assistant Secretary Rivkin and Vice Premier Simon Chang met before the COMPUTEX opening to exchange views on the strategic direction of the Digital Economy Forum. President Ma was also present to welcome the launch.
The U.S.-Taiwan Digital Economy Forum will be a high-level, multi-stakeholder platform for discussion of digital economy policy issues of importance to the United States and Taiwan. The 1-2 day event will feature keynote addresses by senior-level U.S. and Taiwan leaders and presentations by public- and private-sector experts. The U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda, will lead the United States’ interagency delegation to the Forum. Minister Woody Duh from the National Development Council will lead Taiwan’s delegation, supported by Minister without Portfolio Jaclyn Tsai. The new Digital Economy Forum will be among the United States’ highest level economic dialogues with Taiwan.
While the United States and Taiwan already enjoy a high degree of cooperation in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, the Digital Economy Forum will be an opportunity to deepen our partnership and promote closer coordination and knowledge exchange on our policies and goals in this area. The United States and Taiwan share an interest in promoting the open Internet, the free flow of data across borders, expanded access and adoption of ICTs, and the further development of the global digital economy.
The two sides have already begun discussions and in the coming months will develop a detailed agenda and list of participating agencies. For more information on the United States’ information and communications policy, please see: http://www.state.gov/e/eb/cip/
