Closer Taiwan trade and cultural exchanges planned for Te Puni Kōkiri

Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development and the Council of indigenous Peoples of Taiwan are advancing plans to work closer together to facilitate trade and cultural exchanges.

The agreement between the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu and New Zealand on Economic Cooperation – sometimes referred to as the ANZTEC agreement – makes special provision for the two coordinating authorities, the Council of Indigenous Peoples and Te Puni Kōkiri to facilitate opportunities for indigenous peoples engage in trade and cultural exchanges.

Since the ANZTEC came into force on 1 December 2013 there has been growing interest from indigenous enterprises on both sides in each other’s markets.

Indicative of this, three Māori business delegations have visited the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu so far and a strong Māori business element will be on show at this year’s Taipei Food Show.

The cultural and people-to-people connections between indigenous peoples in the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu and Māori are stronger than ever, with numerous two-way cultural exchanges over the previous year.

The Council of Indigenous Peoples and Te Puni Kōkiri are looking to build on those connections over the coming years, together with plans for Māori to share their insights about their ongoing language revitalisation journey.

ENDS

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