A follow-up meeting was held with Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to build on the January 2025 Memorandum of Understanding during the 2025 Leadership Mission to Asia

TAIPEI, Taiwan— This week, a delegation from the State of Florida, led by Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly met with the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) as part of the 2025 Leadership Mission to Asia. The meeting serves as a platform to advance discussions following the Florida-Taiwan Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in January of 2025, which reaffirmed Florida and Taiwan’s longstanding relationship and set the framework for expanded cooperation in areas such as semiconductor manufacturing, trade and education.

The working session focused on assessing the progress since the MOU signing and identifying tangible next steps for collaboration. These next steps include potential partnerships between Florida and Taiwanese universities and fostering partnerships to support high-tech industries like Florida’s advanced packaging and photonics capabilities which compliment Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Florida also offers unique industry use cases for microelectronics that make Florida a complimentary partner for Taiwan across the aerospace and aviation, and military and defense sectors, unique transportation demands and emerging capabilities in advanced air mobility, including UAS (drones), life sciences, and research and development for energy.

“As Florida’s State Protocol Officer, I’m pleased Florida and Taiwan are taking steps to further solidify the partnership set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding,” said Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd. “Advancing this agreement ensures our economic and diplomatic alliance remains focused on mutual prosperity.”

“Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida is taking deliberate steps to turn our strategic relationship with Taiwan into actionable outcomes,” said Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly. “This continued dialogue is focused on identifying real opportunities—for trade, investment and innovation—that benefit both Florida and Taiwan. From semiconductors to advanced manufacturing and talent development, we’re building the foundation for long-term economic growth and shared success.”

“Since Minister Ming-Hsin Kung took office at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the MOEA has actively advanced several key policy initiatives in such fields as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cybersecurity, which highly align with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both sides in January this year,” said Director General Liu of Taiwan’s International Trade Administration (TITA). “Both sides could deepen cooperation in four ways: strengthening technological collaboration, enhancing industrial linkages, promoting investment, and expanding trade.”

These continued discussions build on the growing momentum of Florida’s engagement with Taiwan. Most recently, Florida participated in SEMICON Taiwan—a premier international event for the semiconductor industry—and hosted the Taiwan Agriculture Inbound Beef Delegation in September 2025. Both events reflect the expanding scope of Florida-Taiwan relations in many key industries for the regions.

In 2024, the total bilateral merchandise trade between Florida and Taiwan was $1.2 billion, making Taiwan Florida’s 9th largest bilateral merchandise trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan is one of Florida’s most significant markets. In 2024, Taiwan imported $266 million in goods from Florida.