President Lai Ching-te on Tuesday welcomed the largest-ever cross-party
Italian parliamentary delegation to visit Taiwan, led by Italian Senate Vice
President Gian Marco Centinaio.



The 10-member delegation includes members of both houses of the Italian
Parliament from ruling and opposition parties.



Lai noted that Italy is Taiwan's fourth-largest trading partner within the
European Union and said the two sides have highly complementary industrial
strengths.



Centinaio said many Italian parliamentarians believe that "helping Taiwan
is helping the entire world," stressing the importance of maintaining the
status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

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The delegation, which is visiting Taiwan through Saturday, will also meet
with Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang and former President Tsai
Ing-wen, and hold talks with officials from several ministries.

The group will also visit Tainan and Kaohsiung.