Taiwan Co-hosts AFACT, Institute for Information Industry Leads Delegation at the 41st Mid-term Meeting Date: 2023/07/11 Caption: Mr. Cheng-Hung Cho, President of the Institute for Information Industry and the AFACT representative for Taiwan, attended the 41st AFACT Mid-term Meeting as the representative of the host country and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.Caption: The 41st AFACT Mid-term Meeting took place on July 11th in Kyoto, Japan. In the photo, Mr. Cheng-Hung Cho, President of the Institute for Information Industry and the AFACT representative for Taiwan (4th from the right), is pictured with representatives from various countries after the meeting.The Asia-Pacific Council for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (AFACT) held its 41st Mid-term Meeting in Kyoto, Japan on July 11th. Mr. Cheng-Hung Cho, the President of the Institute for Information Industry and the representative of AFACT for Taiwan, attended the conference as the representative of the host country. He led the delegation of Taiwan and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. The President of the Institute for Information Industry, Mr. Cheng-Hung Cho expressed gratitude for the support of AFACT member countries, which facilitated the establishment of the "Sustainable Development and Circular Economy Working Group" advocated by Taiwan. He emphasized that AFACT, as a key international organization promoting trade facilitation and e-commerce in the Asia-Pacific region, not only plays a leading role in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but can also provide recommendations and assistance needed for corporate sustainable transformation. To align with this international trend, Taiwan, during this mid-term meeting, will present proposals on carbon trading, sustainable agriculture and food, and smart transportation services. The goal is to share Taiwan's latest development and experience in these fields and foster substantial collaboration with member countries in the future. Taiwan and Japan jointly served as the host countries for the 2023 AFACT, and President Cheng-Hung Cho expressed sincere gratitude for the active participation of AFACT member countries in this mid-term meeting, whether in person or online. He noted that this occasion marks his second meeting with AFACT representatives, following his participation with the Taiwan delegation in the 40th Forum of the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) in Geneva, Switzerland, in May. In fact, the 41st AFACT Mid-term Meeting had representatives from various countries, including Taiwan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. In addition to inviting responsible units to provide updates on the topics such as the 40th forum of UN/CEFACT, single window, trade facilitation data pipeline, the working group of sustainable development and circular economy, the working group of culture, leisure, and tourism information standards, and the technology and methodology committee, etc, the Institute for Information Industry, acting as the AFACT Permanent Secretariat, briefed on issues such as the "AFACT International Forum" held in March, the updates to the AFACT website, and the 2023 eAsia Awards, among other matters and activities. In the future, the Institute for Information Industry will continue to drive cross-border data exchange initiatives as the AFACT Permanent Secretariat in areas such as carbon trading, sustainable agriculture and food, and smart transportation services, etc. This effort aims to contribute Taiwan's experiences and insights in implementing data standardization to the international communities, while collaborating with other countries to share and collectively promote cross-border data platforms and trade facilitation measures in these relevant fields. Note: AFACT was established in the year 1999 and is a non-profit organization composed of government and business experts from economies in the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan is one of the founding members, and the current membership includes a total of 20 economies in the Asia-Pacific region. The organization's objective is to assist and promote electronic-related policies and activities in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly the standards, regulations, and recommendations developed by UN/CEFACT. AFACT is dedicated to guiding and promoting the electronic capability development of its members in the fields of business, trade, and administrative organizations, etc. It is the only organization outside of Europe and America closely associated with UN/CEFACT and sharing similar operational functions. Currently, Taiwan is represented by the Institute for Information Industry in AFACT, and has assumed the role of the AFACT Permanent Secretariat since 2022, overseeing crucial tasks and activities of this international data standardization organization. 【Media Contact】 Digital Transformation Research Institute (DTRI) Wendy Yang Tel: (02) 6631-8505 wendyyang@iii.org.tw Center for Marketing Strategy (III) Joy Yen Tel: (02) 6631-8635 joyyen@iii.org.tw Ying Shen Tel: (02) 6631-8643 yingshen@iii.org.tw