On June 11, the European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei and the Cabinet-level Public Construction Commission held an EU-Taiwan seminar on government procurement in Taipei.
The foreign dignitaries who attended the event include:
Guy Ledoux – Head of the European Economic and Trade Office;
Bertrand Carsin – Director, Directorate General for Internal Market and Services, European Commission;
Elies Messaoudi –Public Procurement Policy-International Dimension Administrator, Directorate General for Internal Market and Services, European Commission;
Christian Levon – policy officer, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission;
Emanuel Sip –Deputy Minister of Transportation, Czech Republic; and
Rita Beuter – Senior Expert at the European Institute of Public Administration.
The papers presented include "European Government Procurement Policy and Experience," "The Experience and Practice of Government Procurement in the Czech Republic in the Area of Transportation," and "Terms and Conditions in Government Procurement, from an EU Perspective."
Fan Liang-shiow, chairperson of the Public Construction Commission, noted that this event is the first large-scale seminar on the government procurement practices of foreign governments after Taiwan's Government Procurement Act came into effect nine years ago, and we benefit from international interaction among government procurement. The seminar was also attended by some 150 senior procurement officers at various government agencies, who intend to learn the EU practices of government procurement, said Fan.
Previously on June 9, Carsin, Messaoudi, and Levon paid a visit to Chern Jenn-Chuan, vice chairperson of the Public Construction Commission, to exchange opinions on Taiwan's government procurement system. The EU officials expressed high interest in Taiwan's procurement performance and hoped to see further exchanges on both sides. The EU officials also extended an invitation for Taiwanese officials to visit Brussels, Belgium to more thoroughly learn about the topic of government procurement.