The final stretch of the Gov. Phil Murphy-led, Choose New Jersey-organized and financed economic mission to East Asia took place in Taiwan with several developments before the delegation headed back to the Garden State.

The Taiwan leg, which was a late addition to the trip, opened with Murphy and Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen announcing plans for Choose New Jersey to open an Asia-Pacific office in Taipei City in 2024. It will be Choose New Jersey’s fifth international office.

In addition to meeting with President Tsai, the governor and First Lady Tammy Murphy met with Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an to signify a step toward the strengthening of bonds between Taipei City and the Garden State. While in Taiwan, the delegation also met with top Taiwanese political, political, and business leaders – participating in roundtable discussions, pitching the Garden State, and signing several Memorandums of Understanding and partnerships.

Thank you to President Tsai @iingwen for hosting us this morning at the Presidential Office. I’m incredibly proud to be the first sitting Governor of New Jersey to ever visit Taiwan. 🇹🇼🇺🇸 #NJEastAsiaMission pic.twitter.com/SRsAR5ENw3

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) October 21, 2023

Some of those included:

• An MOU between the New Jersey Economic Development Authority  and Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to formally promote bilateral trade, industry, and investment collaboration as well as a supply chain diversification between Taiwan and New Jersey
• An MOU between the New Jersey Board of Education and the Ministry of Education of Taiwan to create exchange opportunities for Chinese and English language teachers, in addition to the implementation of joint projects between institutions of both regions
• A MOU between the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan to ensure that all non-public information shared between the two parties will be handled in accordance with all applicable confidentiality laws and regulations
• An MOU between the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the National Tsing Hua University, a leading research university, to facilitate joint research activities and the exchange of faculty and students
• Academic partnerships between Rutgers University, NJIT and National Taipei University of Technology, a top research university in Taiwan, to strengthen academic collaboration and enhance research capabilities for the universities
• An MOU between BioNJ and Taiwan BIO to promote collaboration between the two organizations to support life sciences companies in both regions

“With this Memorandum of Understanding, we are opening a new line of communication between researchers and industry leaders working on the cutting edge of science and medicine both in Taiwan and in New Jersey,” Murphy said Oct. 21 following the signing of that life sciences MOU. “By bringing together our brightest minds, we not only have the potential to unlock new discoveries, but we are going to create new economic opportunities for our families and workers.”

🇹🇼 @wsmathews spoke on behalf of BioNJ during the #NJEastAsiaMission visit to Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park. @BioNJ_Org and Taiwan Bio signed an MOU, marking the beginning of an open, cooperative relationship between the two leading life sciences associations! pic.twitter.com/HqnRlAghSk

— Choose New Jersey (@ChooseNJ) October 22, 2023

“Many companies throughout Taiwan and the U.S. and certainly in New Jersey have engaged in long and well-established strategic partnerships,” said Debbie Hart, president and CEO of BioNJ, who recently spoke to NJBIZ about life science, innovation, and more. “Alliances, such as the one between BioNJ and Taiwan BIO, are important in fostering new business opportunities and research collaborations. We look forward to bringing our members together to support the life sciences industry as a whole – ultimately bringing new medical innovation to patients around the world.”

The trip, which also included stops in Japan and South Korea, ran from Oct. 14 through Oct. 22.